CHRYSOMITRIS BARBATA 49 



Atticora Cyanoleuca, Bumford, ibis, pp. 32, 170, 1877, p. 392, 1878; 

 Sharpe, Oat. Birds Brit. Mus., x, p. 186, 1885 ; Sclater and Hudson, 

 Argentine Orn., i, p. 33, 1888. 



Habitat. — Central America, througliout South America, to Tierra del Fuego. 



There is no difficulty in identifying the little Blue-backed 

 Swallow, from its uniformly dark upper surface, its small size, 

 and its habit of flying close to the ground. It is not plentiful 

 as compared with Meyen's Martin. Amongst a hundred of the 

 latter one might perhaps see on an average one or two pairs. 



Darwin records this Swallow from Bahia Blanca, in Patagonia. 



Durnford says : — " It arrives in the Province of Buenos Ayres 

 at the end of September, generally leaving in March, but on one 

 occasion I observed a pair on 30th April. It always reminds me 

 of the Sand Martin at home. In its habit of flying close to the 

 ground and frequenting the neighbourhood of pools and streams, 

 from which it never wanders far, it is essentially like that bird. 

 It nests in holes in the banks of 'arroyos,' sandpits, and similar 

 localities." 



On warm days in the winter, he observed a few at Chupat; 

 but the great majority left at the approach of cold weather. 



Family FRUSTGILLIDiE 

 CHRYSOMITRIS BARBATA (Molina) 



Fringilla barbata, Molina, Saggio Storia Naturale, Chili, p. 247, 



1782. 



ChrySOmitriS Campestris, Gould and Darwin, Voy. '^Beagle," Birds, 

 p. 89, 1841. 



Chrysomitris magellanica (nee Vieillot), Abbott, ibis, p. 154, 1861. 



ChrySOmitris marginaliS, Cassin, U.S. Astron. Exp., p. 181, pi. xrii, 



1855. 

 Chrysomitris barbata, Bumford, ibis, p. 172, 1877 ; Sharpe, Cat. 



Birds Brit. Mus., xii, p. 21(5, 1888 ; Oustalet, Miss. Sci. Cap Horn, Ois., 



p. 99, 1891. 



