175 



to see ; it feeds on several kinds of seeds, but its 

 favourite food is the grain of the madia sativa, and 

 the aromatic leaves of the scandix Chilensis. 



The diuca (fringilla diuca) is of the same genus 

 as the preceding, but a little larger, and of a blue 

 colour; its note is very agreeable particularly towards 

 day-break; it keeps about houses like the sparrow, 

 which it resembles in many respects, and I think it 

 highly probable that it is the same bird with the blue 

 sparrow of Congo, mentioned by Mer olla and Ca- 

 vazzi, and the New Zealand bird of Captain Cook, 

 which sung so harmoniously at sunrise, 



The thili^ or Chili (turdus thilius) is a species of 

 thrush which, as I have already observed, appears 

 to have given its name to the country where it is 

 found in great numbers. Linnaeus has described 

 from Feuille the female of this bird under the name 

 of turdus plumheus. The female is indeed of a grey 

 colour, but the male is entirely black except a yel- 

 low spot which it has under the wings; it has the 

 shape of a thrush, but the tail is uniform ; it makes 

 its nest upon trees near the river with wet mud, in 

 which it lays four eggs ; its song is very sweet and 

 loud, but it will not bear confinement ; it is never 

 eaten, as its flesh has a rank and disagreeable smelL 



The thenca (turdus thenca) in my opinion is mere- 

 ly a variety of the Virginian thrush (turdus poly- 

 glottus) or of the turdus Orpheus, or centzontlatotle 

 of Mexico, called the four hundred tongues, from 

 the variety of its notes ; it is of the size of the com- 

 mon thrush, but its wings and its tail, which is entire 

 and rounded, are longer ; its eyes, bill and feet are 



