20 Mr. E. Gibson on the Ornithology of 
was not to be found nearer than Dolores, sixty miles to the 
north-west. 
It remains during the whole year, and breeds with us. 
Quite a wood-frequenting bird, one rarely sees it either in 
the plains or about the swamps. It is not at all shy, and, 
particularly in the winter months, may be seen every day in 
the patio, looking for its share of food from the kitchens, im 
company with various other birds. One of our men was very 
successful in trapping them there; and even adult birds soon 
became tame after being caged. In Buenos Ayres it is one 
of the most common and prized of caged birds. Those I 
have seen were fed principally on thistle-seeds, millet, soaked 
bread, fruit, &e. &c. The leisurely sweet whistle is well 
known, and, as I have found, is not very difficult of imita- 
tion. I have kept a bird responding to me for some time 
before it discovered the nature of its rival. The young ac- 
company the parents till well on into the winter, but do not 
sing or acauire their full plumage till the ensuing spring, the 
head and crest remaining of a dull brick-red in the interval. 
Breeding-Notes.—It nests from the end of October to the 
middle of November, retiring for that purpose to the woods. 
The nest is generally placed at the end of a branch of a 
tala tree, about eight or ten feet from the ground. It is a 
large shallow construction, built of wild-vine tendrils or twigs 
and wood, and lined with horse-hair. Sometimes the last 
material greatly predominates ; and I have then seen the nest 
so frail that one could see through the bottom of it. The 
uneasy approaches of the birds frequently betray its situa- 
tion, should an intruder appear in the vicinity. 
Three is the largest and most usual number of eggs laid. 
The clutches of eggs vary greatly in appearance, and still more 
soinsize. The commonest type measures about #4 x 75, and 
in colour is of a brownish ground, thickly marked with brown 
spots. One clutch of three, in my possession, fitly illustrates 
the above-noted variation. The eggs average 175 x #3, while 
the ground-colour, of which there is a good deal seen, has a 
greenish tinge ; the spots also incline to the blunt end; and 
in addition there is a dark ring there, more or less pronounced. 
