368 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



I lost no time in going to see the chief, explained the nature 

 of our work to him, and then acting on his suggestion took 

 the next train to Salta to get a permit which entitled us 

 to hunt anywhere within that province. All this was ac- 

 complished within a few hours. The various officials with 

 whom I came in contact were most courteous and obliging. 



Our study of bird-nesting at Rosario de Lerma was con- 

 fined largely to observing the parasitic habits of the black 

 cowbird (Molothrus b. bonariensis) , referred to by the Span- 

 ish-speaking people as the "tordo." The bird usually 

 called tordo, however, is a species of oriole, highly esteemed 

 as a cage bird on account of its not unmusical singing 

 ability. This bird is of slender, graceful build, about the 

 size of a red-winged blackbird, and of a uniform glossy, 

 purplish-black color except on the wings and tail, which 

 have a pronounced greenish sheen. The female is of a dark, 

 ashy-brown color. 



We saw flocks of them daily in the fields, on the backs 

 of cattle grazing in the pastures, in the courtyards of houses, 

 in corrals, and more particularly in the scattered trees, which 

 were almost certain to contain at least one nest of the oven- 

 bird (Furnarius) or of some species of brush-bird (Phacel- 

 lodomus). Usually the flocks were composed of from ten 

 to twelve individuals, the bright, glossy males outnumber- 

 ing the dull, grayish females in the proportion of four to 

 one. Azara gives the proportion of males to females as 

 ten to one, but this disparity is too great for any part of 

 the Argentine known to me. 



The birds are noisy, keeping up a loud chatter, especially 

 where a flock is on the wing, or when preparing for the 

 night's sleep. The male bursts into a short, pretty song 

 with frequency, dropping his wings and moving in a nervous 

 manner while singing. Apparently the female does not 

 sing. 



It has been said that the females of this species lay eggs 

 during a period of three or four months; to know how many 

 are laid by a single bird would be interesting, as the number 



