WOOD-HE WERS. 



54i 



slightly curved; the wings are moderate, the tail consists of twelve feathers, 

 and the feet are strong and adapted to terrestrial progression. The members 

 of this genus range all over South America, eighteen species being restricted 

 to the temperate regions. A well-known species in Paraguay (F. rufus), 

 Uruguay, and Argentina is the red oven-bird, which enjoys a wide popularity 

 011 account of its familiarity with man, its loud ringing voice, and the 



BROWN-FRONTED SPINE-TAIL AND RED OVEN-BIRD (J uat. size). 



wonderful mud-nest which it prefers to build near a human habitation, often 

 upon a projecting beam or the roof of the house itself. Mr. W. H. Hudson says 

 that in favourable seasons the oven-birds begin building in the autumn, and the 

 work is resumed during the winter whenever there is a spell of mild, wet weather ; 

 the material used being mud, with the addition of horsehair or fibrous roots, which 

 make the structure harder, and prevent it from cracking. When finished, the 

 structure is shaped outwardly like a baker's oven, only with a deeper and narrower 

 entrance. It is always placed very conspicuously, and with the entrance facing a 



