CHIN-SPOTTED TYRANT 163 
air. I have frequently seen them make the most 
unprovoked assaults on birds of an inoffensive kind ; 
possibly they are in these attacks moved by a playful 
rather than by a vindictive spirit. I once saw one 
drop like a stone from a height of fifty yards on to a 
Pigeon perched on a leafless tree. The Pigeon fell 
as if shot to the earth ; the Tyrant-bird then released 
his hold; the Pigeon rushed away terrified through 
the trees, while its persecutor rose up high in the 
air and resumed its journey. 
I have elsewhere spoken of the wars waged by 
this bird against other species, all seeking to gain 
possession of the large nest of Anumbius acuticau- 
datus. A hole in the trunk of a tree is also a favourite 
breeding-place. The nest is neatly built of slender 
twigs and leaves, and lined with horsehair. The eggs 
are slightly oval, and densely marked with dark - 
brown spots or stripes on a white or brownish-white 
ground, 
CHIN-SPOTTED TYRANT 
Muscisaxicola macloviana 
Above cinereous, lores blackish, cap brown; tail-coverts and tail 
black, outer margins of outer tail-feathers white ; below pale cinereous, 
passing into white on lower belly, crissum, and under wing-coverts ; 
chin-spot brown; bill and feet black; length 6.1 inches. Female 
similar, but chin-spot not so well marked. 
Tuts South Patagonian species is one of a small 
group of Tyrant-birds which resemble in their habits 
and appearance the Saxicole of Europe. They 
