ELEVEN WEEKS IN NORTH-EASTERN BRAZIL. 253 



2. TURDUS RUFIYENTRIS. 



I found this Thrush common all over the districts I visited, except in 

 the immediate neighbourhood of Recife. In its habits it much resembles 

 the common Thrush of England (T. musicus), spending a good deal of 

 its time on the ground in pursuit of its food. It is usually to be seen in 

 paths in the lower second growth, or in the clearings for railways, or on 

 the line itself, and is not found in the thick forests. The Brazilians call 

 this Thrush, as well as the preceding species, " Sabia," and esteem it 

 highly for eating-purposes. Hence probably it has become rare near 

 Recife, and shy elsewhere in the neighbourhood of towns. 



Eyes brown ; beak greenish yellow, the upper mandible greyer ; feet 

 dirty flesh. 



3. POLIOPTILA LEUCOGASTRA. 



I first met with this elegant little bird near Parahyba, and subse- 

 quently saw it frequently in the interior between Quipapa and Garanhuns. 

 It goes about in small companies of two or three, and is a most active 

 little creature, in almost perpetual motion from twig to twig, the 

 meanwhile constantly flipping its tail up and down. 



Eyes brown. 



4. DOXACOBIUS ATRICAPILLUS. Ibis, 1881, 



p. 328. 

 This bird I first observed from the train on the railway between Cabo 



and Una, frequenting the marshy bottoms of the valleys. I subse- 

 quently saw it at Cabo, and found it more or less abundant in suitable 

 situations all along my route thence to Macuca. It is a very noisy 

 bird, with a loud chattering cry. It flies about in small companies of 

 three or four, and is found among the marshy vegetation that grows 

 along the banks of the stream. The bird is a very conspicuous one, 

 both owing to its noisy cry and the habit it has of fluttering its short 

 and rounded wings, when the white bar at the base of the primaries 

 forms a very much more striking mark than would be imagined from the 

 skins. I heard the name " Casaca do Couro," signifying " Leathern 

 Jacket," applied to this bird by a Brazilian friend who had paid some 

 attention to animals ; but whether it is the same bird as that mentioned 

 by Capt. Burton (' Highlands of Brazil,' ii. p. 316) under the same 

 name, and noticed by him on account of its remarkable nest, I do not 

 know. I never saw Donacobius nesting. As mentioned by Burrneister 

 (Thiere Bras. ii. p. 130) there is a narrow naked space, about an inch 

 long, on the neck of this bird, behind the angle of the jaw, which shows 

 conspicuously in the shot bird. It is coloured bright chrome-yellow 

 (Burmeister says "fleischroth "), and with the bright yellow irides makes 

 a freshly shot Donacobius a far more beautiful object than one that is 



