1883]. Barrows on Birds of the Lozver Uruguay. 1 39 
What becomes of these birds in summer I do not know. None 
were met with on the pampas during our trip, though another 
species (M. rufiventris ) , which only visits Concepcion in win- 
ter, was abundant about the Ventana in March. 
51. Taenioptera dominicana ( Vieill . ) . — -At Concepcion 
this bird does not occur. It was first seen as we approached the 
I Pampean Sierras. Plere among the stalks of the drying thistles, 
or on the tops of the beautiful pampas grass, it was frequently 
seen. It has an undulating flight which, taken in connection 
with its black and white dress, at once suggested a Shrike in 
unusually fine plumage. At this time (February 4, 1881) they 
j were only seen in pairs or little' family parties, were almost 
! silent, and in ragged plumage ; but late in March, on the Pigu6, 
we found them in large, scattering flocks, which collected in one 
place toward evening, and went through with a series of aerial 
evolutions accompanied with vocal exercises of a varied and 
entertaining kind, lasting half an hour or more. 
I presume this was in preparation for their northward (or 
westward?) migration, as we did not see them again after leav- 
ing this spot, though equally favorable localities were visited. 
52. Tcenioptera irupero (Vieill.). Viuda; Viudita 
(Widow; Little Widow). — The snowy plumage of this 
little bird, only the outer wing feathers and the tip of the tail 
being black, makes it one of the first birds noticed in going into 
the country. The name Little Widow, by which it is every- 
where known, is very appropriate, though the black edgings are 
not very conspicuous at a little distance, and I have been fre- 
quently assured by sportsmen and even by gauchos that there 
was a bird on the pampas called Novia (Bride) which was of 
milky whiteness without a single touch of other color. 
At Concepcion this species is resident through the year. It 
was not met with further south than Azul, but at Carhue I 
heard of the “Novia” as a common bird in summer. 
The nest is built very early in the season, often, I think, by 
the middle of August, judging from the condition of old birds 
taken then. On August 30, 1880, I saw a pair building a nest, 
largely of feathers, in the hollow limb of a dead tree, and I 
afterwards saw others in similar places. I never saw the eggs 
but was told that they were pure white and unspotted. From 
statements from another source I had reason to believe that the 
