Argentine Ornithology Volume Ii Part 2

(RED-THROATED HUMMING-BIRD.)

+Hylocharis sapphirina+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 93; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 184 (Buenos Ayres); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 22 (Entrerios); _Elliot, Syn. Troch._ p. 236; _Gould, Mon. Troch._ v. pl. 342.

_Description._--Head, upper surface and under wing-coverts, flanks and abdomen rich deep shining green; chin rufous chestnut; fore part of the neck and breast rich sapphirine blue, with violet reflexions; upper tail-coverts bronzy brown; tail-feathers chestnut, the two centre ones with a bronzy hue, the remainder edged with blackish brown; wings purple-brown; under tail-coverts light chestnut; bill fleshy red, except at the point, which is black; feet brown: whole length 35 inches, wing 22, tail 12. _Female_: upper surface green as in the male, crown approaching to brown, throat pale rufous; only a trace of the blue on the throat; under surface much paler, fading into white on the centre of the abdomen; tail-feathers dark brown, the lateral ones tipped with greyish, and the middle feathers glossed with deep bronze.

_Hab._ Southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Northern Argentina.

The Red-throated Humming-bird is abundant in the woods along the Plata river, and ranges, I believe, fifty or sixty miles south of Buenos Ayres city. Outside of the littoral woods it is very rarely met with. The only nest I have found was in my own garden, and was placed on a horizontal branch. The female continued sitting on the nest, which contained two eggs, even when I placed my hand almost touching it; the male bird in the mean time exhibiting the greatest anxiety, and hovering so near as almost to brush my face with its wings.

240. CHLOROSTILBON SPLENDIDUS (Vieill.).

(GLITTERING HUMMING-BIRD.)

+Chlorostilbon splendidus+, _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877 p. 184 (Buenos Ayres); _Salvin, Ibis_, 1880, p. 360 (Salta); _White, P. Z.

S._ 1882, p. 616 (Catamarca); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 22 (Entrerios); _Elliot, Ibis_, 1877, p. 136; _id. Syn. Troch._ p.

244. +Ornismya aureoventris+, _d'Orb. et Lafr. Syn. Av._ ii. p.

28 (Corrientes). +Chlorostilbon aureiventris+, _Scl. et Salv.

Nomencl._ p. 94. +Hylocharis bicolor+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 448 (Mendoza, Parana, Tuc.u.man). +Chlorostilbon phaethon+, _Gould, Mon. Troch._ v. pl. 354.

_Description._--Head, all the upper surface, and wing-coverts rich golden bronze, but inclining to green on the upper tail-coverts, wings purplish brown; tail black, glossed with deep green; throat and breast glittering emerald-green, merging into glittering coppery bronze on the sides of the neck and abdomen; under tail-coverts green; bill fleshy red at the base, with a darker tip; feet blackish: whole length 35 inches, wing 22, tail 13. _Female_ bronzy green above and grey beneath, washed with bronze on the flanks; wings purplish brown; tail bluish black, the two lateral feathers tipped with greyish white.

_Hab._ South Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.

The Glittering Humming-bird appears in the vicinity of Buenos Ayres in September, and later in the spring is found everywhere on the pampas where there are plantations, but it is never seen on the treeless plains. Its sudden appearance in considerable numbers in plantations on the pampas, where there are flowers to which it is partial, like those of the acacia-tree, and its just as sudden departure when the flowers have fallen, have led me to conclude that its migration extends much further south, probably into mid-Patagonia. Like most Humming-birds it is an exquisitely beautiful little creature, in its glittering green mantle; and in its aerial life and swift motions a miracle of energy.

To those who have seen the Humming-bird in a state of nature all descriptions of its appearance and movements must seem idle. In the life-habits of the Trochilidae there is a singular monotony; and the Glittering Humming-bird differs little in its customs from other species that have been described. It is extremely pugnacious; the males meet to fight in the air, and rapidly ascend, revolving round each other, until when at a considerable height they suddenly separate and dart off in opposite directions. Occasionally two or three are seen flashing by, pursuing each other, with such velocity that even the Swift's flight, which is said to cover four hundred miles an hour, seems slow in comparison. This species also possesses the habit of darting towards a person and hovering bee-like for some time close to his face. It also flies frequently into a house, at window or door, but does not, like birds of other kinds, become confused on such occasions, and is much too lively to allow its retreat to be cut off. It feeds a great deal on minute spiders, and is fond of exploring the surfaces of mud and brick walls, where it is seen deftly inserting its slender crimson bill into the small spider-holes in search of prey. The nest, like that of most humming-birds, is a small, beautifully-made structure, composed of a variety of materials held closely together with spiders' webs, and is placed on a branch, or in a fork, or else suspended from slender dropping vines or twigs. Sometimes the nest is suspended to the thatch overhanging the eaves of a cottage, for except where persecuted the bird is quite fearless of man's presence. The eggs are two, and white.

Besides the little creaking chirp uttered at short intervals while flying or hovering, this species has a set song, composed of five or six monotonous squeaking notes, uttered in rapid succession when the bird is perched.

Dr. Burmeister met with this Humming-bird at Mendoza, Parana, and Tuc.u.man, and says it is the commonest species in La Plata, and easily recognizable by its red bill.

Mr. Durnford also p.r.o.nounces this species to be the commonest Humming-bird in the province of Buenos Ayres, and "abundant in the summer." It is not usual to meet with them in the winter; but Durnford saw a single specimen in a sheltered garden in the beginning of June.

This Humming-bird feeds princ.i.p.ally, he tells us, on the flowers of the Ceiba-tree, but not exclusively on honey, for the stomach of a specimen examined contained fragments of minute Coleoptera.

During his last journey Durnford obtained examples of this species near Salta; and White found it very abundant and breeding near Catamarca in the month of September.

According to Mr. Barrows the Glittering Humming-bird is also very common in Entrerios; he writes as follows:--"Very abundant at Concepcion in summer, arriving from the north early in September and departing again in April. Though found everywhere among flowers, they are particularly partial to open ground, flowery fields, gardens, &c., and in October it was not uncommon to have six or eight in sight at once."

Fam. XXI. CYPSELIDae, or SWIFTS.

The cosmopolitan family of Swifts, as far as is yet known, represented by one species only in the Argentine Republic. This is a fine large form of wide distribution, which extends over most of Southern and Central America.

241. HEMIPROCNE ZONARIS (Shaw).

(RINGED SPINE-TAILED SWIFT.)

+Hemiprocne zonaris+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 95. +Acanthylis collaris+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 449 (Mendoza).

_Description._--Black, glossed with bronzy; a white collar round the neck, rather broader in front; tail spiny, slightly forked: whole length 85 inches, wing 75, tail 28. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Central and South America down to Argentina.

Dr. Burmeister observed specimens of this fine large Spine-tailed Swift near the Sierra of Mendoza in December and the following month.

Fam. XXII. CAPRIMULGIDae, or GOATSUCKERS.

Nearly fifty different species of the singular nocturnal birds commonly known as "Goatsuckers" are found in the Neotropical Region. They are most numerous within the tropics, where insect-life is more abundant, but also occur more sparingly in temperate lat.i.tudes. Six of them have been recorded as having been met with within the limits a.s.signed to this work.

The Goatsuckers generally take their insect-prey on the wing late in the evening; but many of them often alight on the ground, and usually nest there or in hollow trees.

242. PODAGER NACUNDA (Vieill.).

(NACUNDA GOATSUCKER.)

+Podager nacunda+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 95; _iid. P. Z. S._ 1868, p. 142 (Buenos Ayres); _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 449 (Parana); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 24 (Entrerios, Bahia Blanca).

_Description._--Above brown with dense black vermiculations and occasional blotches; wings black, with a broad white cross bar across the base of the primaries; secondaries and coverts like the back; tail above like the back, beneath grey with blackish cross bands; four outer tail-feathers broadly tipped with white: beneath, breast brown variegated with black, as above; chin fulvous; band across the throat and whole belly and crissum white; bill black; feet pale brown: whole length 110 inches, wing 95, tail 49.

_Female_ similar, but without the white ends to the tail-feathers.

_Hab._ South America.

The specific name of this Goatsucker is from the Guarani word _nacunda_, which Azara tells us is the Indian nickname for any person with a very large mouth. In the Argentine country it has several names, being called _Dormilon_ (Sleepy-head) or _Duerme-duerme_ (Sleep-sleep), also _Gallina ciega_ (blind hen). It is a large handsome bird, and differs from its congeners in being gregarious, and in never perching on trees or entering woods. It is an inhabitant of the open pampas. In Buenos Ayres, and also in Paraguay, according to Azara, it is a summer visitor, arriving at the end of September and leaving at the end of February. In the love season the male is sometimes heard uttering a song or call, with notes of a hollow mysterious character; at other times they are absolutely silent, except when disturbed in the daytime, and then each bird when taking flight emits the syllable _kuf_ in a hollow voice. When flushed the bird rushes away with a wild zigzag flight, close to the ground, then suddenly drops like a stone, disappearing at the same moment from sight as effectively as if the earth had swallowed it up, so perfect is the protective resemblance in the colouring of the upper plumage to the ground. In the evening they begin to fly about earlier than most _Caprimulgi_, hawking after insects like swallows, skimming over the surface of the ground and water with a swift, irregular flight; possibly the habit of sitting in open places exposed to the full glare of the sun has made them somewhat less nocturnal than other species that seek the shelter of thick woods or herbage during the hours of light.

The Nacunda breeds in October, and makes no nest, but lays two eggs on a sc.r.a.ped place on the open plain. Mr. Dalgleish says of the eggs:--"They are oval-shaped, and resemble much in appearance those of the Nightjar, except that the markings, which are similar in character to those of the latter, are of a reddish-brown or port-wine colour."

After the breeding-season they are sometimes found in flocks of forty or fifty individuals, and will spend months on the same spot, returning to it in equal numbers every year. One summer a flock of about two hundred individuals frequented a meadow near my house, and one day I observed them rise up very early in the evening and begin soaring about like a troop of swallows preparing to migrate. I watched them for upwards of an hour; but they did not scatter as on previous evenings to seek for food, and after a while they began to rise higher and higher, still keeping close together, until they disappeared from sight. Next morning I found that they had gone.

In Entrerios, Mr. Barrows tells us, this Goatsucker is an abundant summer resident, arriving early in September, and departing again in April. It is strictly crepuscular or nocturnal, never voluntarily taking wing by daylight. In November it lays a pair of spotted eggs in a hollow scooped in the soil of the open plain. These in shape and markings resemble eggs of the Nighthawk (_Chordeiles virginia.n.u.s_) somewhat, but are of course much larger, and have a distinct reddish tinge. We found the birds not uncommon near Bahia Blanca, February 17, 1881, but elsewhere on the Pampas we did not observe them.

243. CHORDEILES VIRGINIa.n.u.s (Gm.).

(WHIP-POOR-WILL.)

+Chordeiles virginia.n.u.s+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 96; _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 24 (Entrerios); _Berlepsch, J. f. O._ 1887, p. 120 (Paraguay).

_Description._--Above black, varied and mottled with brown; wings black, with a broad white bar across the bases of the five outer primaries; tail black, with brown cross bands and a broad white subapical bar: beneath white, with dense blackish cross bands; breast blacker; broad throat-band white; bill black; feet pale brown: whole length 85 inches, wing 78, tail 40. _Female_ similar, but throat-band tawny and no white band on the tail.

_Hab._ North and South America.