WARBLING FINCH 49 
this account pronounce it to be the one silent member 
of a voiceful family, as my acquaintance with it is so 
very slight. 
BLACK-AND-CHESTNUT WARBLING 
FINCH 
Poospiza nigrorufa 
Above black, faintly washed with olive; eye-stripe pale straw- 
colour; two outer tail-feathers on each side tipped with white; be- 
neath bright chestnut; under tail-coverts pale buff; length 5.8 
inches. Female: above not so dark as in male; beneath light buff 
striped with blackish. 
THIS sweet-voiced little songster appears in Buenos 
Ayres at the end of September ; it is a common bird 
in grounds abounding in bushes and scattered trees, 
and in its bright ruddy breast and dark upper plumage 
has some resemblance to the English Robin; only 
it has a very conspicuous straw-coloured line above 
the eye. Its voice also, in purity and sweetness of 
tone, is not unlike that of the Robin; but the song, 
composed of six unvarying notes, is uttered in a 
deliberate, business-like manner at regular intervals, 
and is monotonous. Never more than two birds 
are seen together; they feed on the ground in 
humid situations, the male frequently seeking a 
perch to sing. The nest is made on the ground, 
or in a close bush near the surface; the eggs have 
a pale bluish ground-colour, irregularly marked 
with black and very dark brown spots, and in 
some instances clouded with faint grey. 
D I 
