:SS 3 .] 
Barrows on Birds of the Lower Uruguay. 
20 5 
79. Upucerthia dnmetoria Geoff r. et d’Orb. — A few of 
these were met with on the crest of a little hill about thr,ee miles 
from the desolate little Indian village of Puan. In general habits 
they seemed to resemble Geos lit a more closely than any other 
bird, but were more frequently on the wing, besides differing 
totally in size and aspect from that bird. 
At Carhue a few more were seen on April 6 ; but they were 
very shy and nothing was added to our knowledge of them there. 
80. Cinclodes fuscus ( Vleill. ) . — An abundant bird at 
Concepcion through the cold weather, frequenting sandy or 
muddy flats and avoiding bushy or grassy ground. In general 
appearance they remind one not a little of our smaller Thrushes 
( [T ’. fuscescens , fiallctsi , etc.), but of course the resemblance is 
only superficial. They were often seen in scattered flocks of 
several hundred, or, to speak more correctly, several hundred 
were seen at the same time on a flat only eight or ten acres in 
extent, and after one or two had been shot the rest disappeared 
together, but not all in the same direction or in any order 
which could be called a flock. 
They were rather abundant at Puan and Carhue from March 
28 to AprilS, but all seemed to be migrating. I know nothing 
of their breeding habits. 
The next twelve species, belonging to the Synallaxine group, 
are chiefly interesting on account of the remarkable nests which 
they build. As a rule they are plain, inconspicuous, harsh-voiced 
little birds, resembling Wrens and Nuthatches in their move- 
ments, but with the stick-collecting propensity of the Wren de- 
veloped to such a remarkable extent that were it not for the 
practical uses to which it is put we should say it was simply 
absurd. 
These birds are very abundant at Concepcion, their nests being 
one of the most noticeable features of the landscape. There are 
places within two miles of the centre of the town where I have 
stood and counted, from one point within a radius of twenty rods, 
over two hundred of these curious nests, varying in size from that 
of a small pumpkin to more than the volume of a barrel. Often 
a single tree will contain half a dozen nests or more, and not 
unfrequently the nests of several different species are seen crowd- 
