178 



constantly singing, and descends in tfie same man- 

 ner. The Indians entertain some superstitious 

 opinions respecting the singing of this bird, and they 

 employ the feathers of its breast to ornament their 

 head-dresses. 



The rara (phytotoma rara, gen. nov.) is about the 

 size of a quail, and appears to be the only species of 

 its genus, the passeres of Linnaeus. Its bill is tíiick^ 

 conical, strait-pointed, serrated at the edges, arid half 

 an inch long, the tongue short and blunt, the' pupil 

 of the eye brown, the tail of a middle length and 

 rounded, and upon each foot it has four tO€:s, thrçe 

 before, and one behind, rather shorter; itS sgeneral 

 colour is grey, dark upon the back, and ligíiter upon 

 the belly ; the prime feathers of the wings arid the. 

 side feathers of the tail are tipped with black. Its 

 note is harsh and broken, and soured like the two 

 syllables that form its name. It feeds upon grass, 

 ^which it has a mischievous propensity of pulling^ üp 

 from the roots, and often, through mere wántonness, 

 a much greater quantity than it eats. ;On this ac- 

 count the husbandmen are at continuai war with it, 

 and the children are rewarded for destroying its eggs. 

 It builds its nest in dark and solitary places upon 

 the highest trees, and, by this means, escapes, in a 

 great measure, the pursuits of its enemies ; but its 

 numbers have, however, become considerably di- 

 minished, either from this cause, or from the species 

 being naturally unprolific. 



There Etre three different kinds of the parrot in 

 Chili, oiie of which is constantly to be found i}i the 

 country, but the others are birds of passage. The 



