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Show 546 MR. HUDSON ON THE BIRDS OF BUENOS AYRES. [June 23, " The White Tseniopteras perch and roost in reeds and bushes ; they avoid the open level ground, and frequent rough stubbles, reedy swamps, and plantations, also plains where the cardoon abounds. I have been told by old men that the Tanioptera coronata was in this district a very common bird fifty years ago, when the long grasses had not been destroyed, and that they bred here. This is easy to believe ; for as soon as we pass into the long-grass region this bird becomes quite common. I have met with great numbers of them 200 miles west of Buenos-Ayres city ; and when outside the frontier I frequently noticed the T. coronata gathering from all sides and following our party, probably from curiosity, as human forms must have been strange to them in such a place. " They have no regular migration, as they are seen at all seasons in the regions they inhabit; but in the settled districts, where there are none in summer, stragglers are always found in winter. Several years ago great numbers of them came ; and it was amusing, on still mornings, to watch the dogs thrown into the greatest excitement by their long low whistling notes, sounding from all sides. From this peculiar note the bird is commonly called the Buellero (ox-driver). " The T. dominicana much resembles the last in habits, but in winter goes in flocks. W h e n flying it is a pretty bird, from the contrast of its black wings, tipped with white, with the pure white of its body. There are dull black and grey markings on the upper plumage of the young bird ; but of all the adults I have shot, both in summer and winter, the plumage on the body of the male was entirely white, the upper plumage of the female a light grey. Some individuals breed in the vast reed-beds along the Plata ; but as these are few, probably most of the flocks seen in winter visit us from more distant regions. " The Teenioptera irupero is smaller and much rarer than either of the preceding species. From its snowy-white plumage and jet-black bill, feet, and quill-tips, giving it a mourning appearance, it is called here Viudita, or ' Little Widow.' With the exception of a pair of these birds which I discovered last summer, it has always been in winter that I have met with them. A single individual sometimes appears in this season, and haunts the same spot during its stay, invariably alighting on the same tree or shrub and disappearing at the approach of spring. Still, I cannot say that it is a winter visitor ; as it is so rare a bird at all times, it might easily escape observation in the laying-season without leaving the country. " The three white Tseniopteras I have described perch on reeds and thistles, are fond of isolated shrubs, but avoid trees growing near together. They resemble each other closely in their feeding-habits. Like some Flycatchers they watch for insects from a stand, to which they frequently return after leaving it; but they do not, like the Flycatchers, watch for their prey in the air above and around them, but gaze down intently on the ground, as the Kingfisher does on the water. When they have discovered an insect they dart down and seize it, and proceed to kill and devour it on the spot, returning afterwards to their perch. When opened, their stomachs are found |