244 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



10. Tcenioptera irupero (Viell.) — native name "Viudita," 

 or little widow, so called from the conspicuous black and 

 white plumage. — This pretty little bird is found throughout 

 Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and the Argentine Eepublic. 

 At Tala it is migratory, and not plentiful. In habits it much 

 resembles the last species. It is very familiar, perching on 

 houses, whence it rises again and again, flaps its wings, and 

 returns to its perch. It also perches, like its congener, on 

 bushes and low trees, growing singly, but avoids trees growing 

 together. A great proportion of its food consists of coleoptera. 

 Clutch of four eggs, taken 12th October 1878, from a nest 

 in a hole in a post, lined with feathers. 



These average |-§- x f|- inch, and are pear-shaped, of a 

 creamy white colour, with a very few minute dark reddish 

 spots, dotted at irregular intervals over the Qgg. Some 

 specimens have not more than one or two spots, and none 

 have more than eight or ten in all (PL VII., fig. 2). This 

 species sometimes appropriates the abandoned nest of the 

 hornero, or oven bird. 



11. Mimits calandria (Lafr. et D'Orb.) — native name "Calan- 

 dria." — This species of thrush, which belongs to the same 

 genus as the mocking bird of North America, is known by 

 that name among the English-speaking inhabitants of 

 Uruguay. It is found in Southern Brazil, and southwards to 

 Patagonia. It frequents clumps of bushes, and is never 

 found either in woods or open plains. It is, perhaps, the 

 most familiar of the birds of the country, always making its 

 abode near some dwelling, and once attracted to the place, 

 seldom leaves it. In winter it visits the farmyards or courts, 

 to pick up what it can, and occasionally it there attacks the 

 cheeses which may be drying, or meat which may be hang- 

 ing up. It never hides like the thrushes, but is always seen 

 on the tops of the bushes, generally the most elevated. It 

 hops actively about, and in so doing elevates and expands its 

 tail. Darwin says its song is superior to that of any other 

 bird of the country, and may be compared to that of the 

 sedge warbler. This, which is borne out by residents in 

 Uruguay, who speak of its cheering notes, is, however, only in 

 the spring ; at other times its voice is harsh. It is proficient 



