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Show 620 MR. E. w. W H I T E O N BIRDS [June 20, but lined inside with soft dry grass. The eggs, of which there two in a clutch, rather squat and blunted at both ends, are of a uniformly dull pale green, without spots or markings of any kind. Meas. : axis 31 millim., diam. 24 millim. [I suspect the Cuckoo referred to is C. melanocoryphus, Vieill., as C. minor does not (to my knowledge) occur nearly so far south.- P. L. S.] 147. COCCYZUS CINEREUS (Vieill.). cf . Flores, Buenos Aires, Arg. Rep., Jan. 24, 1882. Iris crimson. I observed but two or three in the copses round Flores. 148. RHAMPHASTOS TOCO (Gm.). cf. Campo Colorado, Oran, Salta, Arg. Rep., Nov. 4, 1880. Iris olive-green. This Toucan I shot among the lofty forest-trees; they go generally in flocks; and their flight is extremely swift and in a straight line. They are wild, and by no means plentiful in this neighbourhood ; but in Misiones I likewise met with them in greater abundance, where they, in company with the Parrots, commit dreadful havoc amongst the orange-groves. 149. CONURUS PATAGONUS (Vieill.). cf. Guazan, near Andalgala, Catamarca, Arg. Rep., Sept. 5,1880. 2 . Andalgala, Catamarca, Arg. Rep., Sept. 6, 1880. Iris white. At Guazan this Parrot is found in large flocks, and settles usually on bare trees. By the natives it is called " Loro Barranquero," as it builds its nest in holes in the barrancas or cliffs. When one is shot of a flock flying over, the rest will continue to whirl round the spot long enough to give the sportsman time to kill nearly the whole ; and at every shot, as the victims tumble, the rest redouble their screams, so that the noise, always great, becomes at length deafening. At Cosquin, in the neighbourhood of Cordoba, I had more opportunity of observing them. They are extremely abundant throughout the sierras there, and are very destructive to crops. On each patch of ground sown with wheat or maize a boy is stationed as a scarecrow; and the shouts of these, the whole length of the valley, some leagues, almost rival in intensity the parrot chorus. The warfare between the birds and their tormentors, however, is invariably in favour of the former, as they have a habit of gliding unseen to the bottom of the stems, which they bite through, so that the stalk falls and they consume the grain at leisure. In the winter, fallen fruit-kernels of the woods afford them sustenance. They breed in deep holes on the cliff-faces ; and the attempt to sack their nests is very hazardous. Four or five eggs are usually found in a clutch. The young birds form a tasty dish. |
