MERULA FUSCATRA, DOrb. & Гај. 
D'ORBIGNY'S OUZEL. 
Turdus fuscater, D'Orb. € Lafr. Mag. de Zool. 1837, Syn. Av. p. 16; D'Orb. Voy. Amér. Mérid. 
p. 200, pl. ix. fig. 1. 
Turdus anthracinus, Burm. J. f. O. 1858, p. 159. 
Merula fuscatra, Seebohm, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. v. p. 243 (1881). 
Merulissima fuscatra, Seebohm, t. c. p. 282 (1881). 
M. notzeo et gastreeo concoloribus, fere nigricantibus, aut brunneis | 4 | vel cinereis [ 2]: alâ 5'5; culm. 0-145 : 
rostro et pedibus flavis. 
THE adult male of this species has a very long bill, which sometimes shows traces of minute serrations, 
as in the Himalayan genus Zoothera ; such an example is figured by Mr. Seebohm in the fifth volume 
of the “Catalogue of Birds,’ p. 243. As will be seen below, I have found the specimens from Catamarca 
and Cordova to have decidedly shorter bills; but there seems to be a gradation between the long-billed 
and short-billed forms, and I have been unable to separate them specifically ; at the same time, it 
must be remarked that the series in the British Museum is not sufficient to determine all the changes 
of plumage undergone by this Ouzel, and it is possible that the grey form found in the interior of 
Argentina may be distinct from the blacker long-billed form which extends from Mendoza to the 
Andes of Bolivia. Although the black form appears to be peculiar to the latter countries, I have 
seen a female from Mendoza which could not be distinguished from others from Catamarca and 
Cordova. 
This species was described by D'Orbigny and Lafresnaye from the Andes of Bolivia, where it 
was found at an elevation of from 5000 to 11,000 feet. D’Orbigny remarks :—‘‘ We have met with 
it on successive occasions in the neighbourhood of the town of La Paz, and later on to the eastward 
of the eastern Cordillera at Enquisivi, in the valley of Cochabamba, at Mezque, Valle Grande, and 
at Chuquisaca. It is generally noticed in the bush-covered ravines, especially near to habitations, 
where it frequents the gardens. Sometimes in winter it becomes so tame as to even enter the 
houses. It is often seen singly and at other times in companies of two or three individuals of the 
same species, searching among the dead leaves under the bushes for its food ; it frequently raises its 
tail, especially when it alights, and occasionally hides itself in the bushes, only to come out later with 
a lively air and scour the neighbourhood. When pursued, its nature is so little timid that it flies 
but a short distance. 
* It is resident in the country, where it is very common, and does not mix with other birds, but 
otherwise it very closely resembles the Common Blackbird of Europe, and its song during the 
breeding-season has much of the melody of the last-named species. It feeds on small grain and 
insects. In August and September it constructs in the bushes a nest which is very like that of the 
European Blackbird, excepting that there is no layer of mud on the external portion. It is often 
kept as а cage-bird in the country, where the Aymaras give it the name of * Chiguanco, which is 
their generic title for all Thrushes.” 
Burmeister says that it is * very common at Mendoza, Cordova, and Tucuman, and met with 
VOL. II. I 
