20 Barrows on Birds of the Lower Uruguay. [January 



mile or more away. They spend much time on the ground, and I 

 often found the bills of those shot quite muddy. They are ver}' 

 tough and hard to kill, and a wounded one shows about as many 

 sharp points as a Hawk. A nest found near Concepcion, Novem- 

 ber 6, iSSo, was in the hollow trunk of a tree, the entrance being 

 through an enlarged crack at a height of some three feet from the 

 ground. The five white eggs were laid on the rubbish at the 

 bottom of the cavity — perhaps a foot above the ground. In the 

 treeless region about the Sierra de la Ventana we saw this bird 

 about holes in the banks of the streams, where it doubtless had 

 nests. 



112. Ceryle torquata {^Limt.'). Martin Pescador (King- 

 fisher). — -Only observed half a dozen times, always in summer. 

 A winged one which fell in the water and was carelessly picked 

 up as the boat passed, closed his powerful bill on my fingers and 

 allowed his lower jaw to be broken before he released his hold. 



113. Ceryle amazona {Lath.). — Not uncommon along 

 the main river throughout the year, and sometimes ascends the 

 smaller streams a short distance. Much more easily approached 

 than the last species, it is not so familiar as the following, with 

 which it fraternizes commonly — the two being often seen fishing 

 side by side. 



114. Ceryle americana (Gm.). — Resident through the 

 year at Concepcion, but especially abundant in winter wdien it 

 haunts the main river, the island shores, and all the streams, big 

 and little. It is not in the least shy, and one once perched in 

 some willows directly over my boat and not ten feet away, while 

 he swallowed a tiny fish he had just captured ; after which he 

 twittered such a hearty little song that I really felt as if his proper 

 place must be among the Oscines in spite of all anatomical 

 defects. On the Pampas we found this a rather common bird 

 on the small streams, and its presence on some streams whose 

 w^aters are entirely absorbed by the desert before they can reach 

 either sea or lake, first called my attention to the presence, even in 

 these streams, of numbers of a small fish which is found in many 

 of the pools as well all over the Pampas. Although both this 

 and the preceding species must nest about Concepcion I did not 

 succeed in learning anything of the nest or eggs. 



115. Guira piririgua ( I7<?///.). Pilincho or Pedincho 

 (meaning not known). — An abundant resident at Concepcion, 



