620 MR. K. W. WHITE ON BIRDS [JunC 20, 



but lined inside with soft dry grass. The eggs, of which there are 

 two in a clutch, rather squat and blunted at both ends, are of a 

 uniformly dull pale green, without spots or markings of any kind. 



Meas. : axis 31 milhm., diam. 24 millim. 



[I suspect the Cuckoo referred to is C. melanocoryphus, Vieill., as 

 G. minor does not (to my knowledge) occur nearly so far south. — 

 P. L. S.] 



147. CoccYzus ciNEREUS (Vieill.). 



6 . Flores, Buenos Aires, Arg. Rep., Jan. 24, 1882. 



Iris crimson. 



I observed but two or three in the copses round Flores. 



148. Rhamphastos toco (Gm.). 



c?. Campo Colorado, Oran, Salta, Arg. Rep., Nov. 4, 1880. 



Iris olive-green. 



This Toucan I shot among the lofty forest-trees ; they go 

 generally in flocks ; and their flight is extremely swift and in a 

 straight line. 



They are wild, and by no means plentiful in this neighbourhood ; 

 but in Misiones I likewise met with them in greater abundance, 

 where they, in company with the Parrots, commit dreadful havoc 

 amongst the orange-groves. 



149. CONURUS PATAGONUS (Vieill.). 



S • Guazan, near Andalgala, Catamarca, Arg. Rep., Sept. 5, 1880. 



2 . Andalgala, Catamarca, Arg. Rep., Sept. 6, 1880. 



Iris white. 



At Guazan this Parrot is found in large flocks, and settles usually 

 on bare trees. By the natives it is called "Loro Barranquero," as 

 it builds its nest in holes in the barrancas or clifi^s. When one is 

 shot of a flock flying over, the rest will continue to whirl round the 

 spot long enough to give the sportsman time to kill nearly the whole ; 

 and at every shot, as the victims tumble, the rest redouble their 

 screams, so that the noise, always great, becomes at length deafening. 



At Cosquin, in the neighbourhood of Cordoba, I had more oppor- 

 tunity of observing them. They are extremely abundant throughout 

 the sierras there, and are very destructive to crops. 



On each patch of ground sown with wheat or maize a boy is 

 stationed as a scarecrow ; and the shouts of these, the whole length 

 of the valley, some leagues, almost rival in intensity the parrot 

 chorus. 



The warfare between the birds and their tormentors, however, is 

 invariably in favour of the former, as they have a habit of gliding 

 unseen to the bottom of the stems, which they bite through, so that 

 the stalk falls and they consume the grain at leisure. 



In the winter, fallen fruit-kernels of the woods afford them sus- 

 tenance. They breed in deep holes on the clifl-faces ; and the attempt 

 to sack their nests is very hazardous. Four or five eggs are usually 

 found in a clutch. The young birds form a tasty dish. 



