Volume I Part 13 (1/2)

_Description._--Above, head, neck, wing- and upper tail-coverts grey; back olivaceous yellow, washed with red; wing and tail-feathers black, edged with grey; beneath, throat grey, breast and belly orange-yellow; crissum and under tail-coverts white; bill horn-colour; feet light brown: whole length 68 inches, wing 36, tail 29.

_Hab._ Argentina.

Of this species, discovered by Dr. Burmeister near Mendoza, Mr. Barrows writes:--”Only met with on the Sierra de la Ventana, where it was abundant in flocks, some of which numbered as many as a hundred individuals. When found near the base of the sierra they were almost always a.s.sociated with the common _Zonotrichia_. Although most of them had not finished moulting, they were constantly singing, and seemed perfectly contented with their desolate surroundings.”

68. PHRYGILUS DORSALIS, Cab.

(RED-BACKED FINCH.)

+Phrygilus dorsalis+, _Cab. Journ. f. Orn._ 1883, p. 109.

_Description._--Ashy grey; back rusty red; wing-coverts blackish; chin, lower belly, and crissum whitish: whole length 65 inches, wing 37, tail 26.

_Hab._ Tuc.u.man.

Schulz discovered this species on the Cerro Vayo of Tuc.u.man, near the snow-line. It reminds one of the North-American species of _Junco_ in its coloration.

69. PHRYGILUS UNICOLOR (d'Orb. et Lafr.).

(SLATY FINCH.)

+Phrygilus unicolor+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 31; _Cab. J. f. O._ 1878, p. 195 (Cordova). +Phrygilus rusticus+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 487 (Mendoza).

_Description._--Above nearly uniform slaty grey, below paler, whiter on the middle of the belly; bill dark horn-colour, feet clear brown: whole length 60 inches, wing 36, tail 26. _Female_ cinereous, with blackish shaft-spots above and below; paler on the middle of the belly.

_Hab._ Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru; Chili, Bolivia, and Northern Argentina.

70. PHRYGILUS FRUTICETI (Kittl.).

(MOURNING FINCH.)

+Phrygilus fruticeti+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii, p. 487 (Cordillera of Mendoza); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 31; _Hudson, P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 537 (Rio Negro); _Durnford, Ibis_, 1878, p. 393 (Chupat); _Doring, Exp. al Rio Negro, Zool._ p. 39 (R. Colorado, R. Negro). +Emberiza luctuosa+, _Eyd. et Gerv. Mag. de Zool._, 1836, _Ois_, pl. 72.

_Description._--Grey, with minute black markings on the head and neck, and broader stripes on the back; greater coverts and wings black, the feathers edged with grey, and a band of white spots across the coverts; tail black; beneath, throat, and upper part of breast black, many feathers tipped with grey, giving the chest a mottled appearance; lower part of breast and belly grey, mottled below the chest with a few black spots; centre of abdomen and under tail-coverts white; beak yellow; feet flesh-colour: total length 73 inches, wing 40, tail 32. _Female_ obscure grey and without the black colour on the throat and chest.

_Hab._ Peru, Bolivia, Chili, and Argentine Republic.

This Finch is common on the western slopes of the Andes as far north as Peru; it is also found in the Mendoza district and throughout Patagonia.

It is very abundant on the Rio Negro, especially in the immediate neighbourhood of the Carmen settlements, for, like the Chingolo and other fringilline species, it is beneficially affected by cultivation.

Though not possessing any bright tints, it is a very charming bird, tuneful, elegant in form, graceful and buoyant in its motions. When approached it utters a series of low ticking sounds, and at intervals a peculiar long squealing note. The song of the male is very agreeable, and curiously resembles that of the Cachila Pipit (_Anthus correndera_).

It usually sits on a twig near the ground, and at intervals soars up to a height of ten or twenty yards, and utters its song while gliding slowly downwards with depressed wings and outspread tail. It sings throughout the year; in bright weather its notes are heard all day long, but on cold, cloudy, or wet days only after sunset. In the warm season they live in pairs, and in the autumn unite in flocks of as many as two or three hundred individuals, and have a strong undulating flight.

71. PHRYGILUS CARBONARIUS (d'Orb. et Lafr.).

(BLACKISH FINCH.)