Argentine Ornithology Volume I Part 8

33. EUPHONIA NIGRICOLLIS (Vieill.).

(BLACK-NECKED TANAGER.)

+Euphonia nigricollis+, _Scl. Cat. B._ xi. p. 61. +Lindo azul y oro cabeza celeste+, _Azara, Apunt._ i. p. 390. +Euphonia aureata+, _d'Orb. Voy., Ois._ p. 267 (Corrientes).

_Description._--Above glossy purplish black; rump yellow; cap and nape blue; front black; below orange-yellow, throat and sides of the head black; axillaries pale yellow; under wing-coverts whitish, inner margins of wing-feathers pale cinereous; bill black; feet pale brown: whole length 45 inches, wing 27, tail 15. _Female_ above olive-green, rather lighter on the rump; cap blue; front chestnut, with a narrow dark margin between it and the blue cap; below yellowish olive-green, brighter on the belly.

_Hab._ South America from Colombia to Northern Argentina.

This Tanager was obtained by d'Orbigny in Southern Corrientes.

34. EUPHONIA CHLOROTICA (Linn.).

(PURPLE-AND-YELLOW TANAGER.)

+Euphonia chlorotica+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 17; _White, P. Z.

S._ 1882, p. 596 (Misiones, Catamarca); _Scl. Cat. B._ xi. p. 64.

_Description._--Above dark purple-black; front half of the cap yellow; below yellow, throat purple-black; tail beneath black, with a large white patch on the inner webs of the two exterior tail-feathers; under surface of wings black, with a large white patch on the inner webs of the remiges; bill and feet black: whole length 33 inches, wing 21, tail 12. _Female_ above greyish olive-green, with a yellowish tinge on the front and rump; below rather more yellowish, with the centre of the breast and belly pale ashy, flanks and crissum pale yellow; under wing-coverts and inner margins of wing-feathers whitish.

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

White obtained examples of this species at Concepcion and Catamarca. At the former place it was noticed feeding on the fruit of a giant cactus.

35. PIPRIDEA MELANONOTA (Vieill.).

(DARK-BACKED TANAGER.)

+Pipridea melanonota+, _Scl. Cat. B._ xi. p. 92. +Pica de punza azul y canela+, _Azara, Apunt._ i. p. 413.

_Description._--Above violaceous blue; while interscapular region darker, blackish; wings and tail black, edged with blue; narrow front, lores, and sides of the head deep velvety black, well defined; body beneath and under wing-coverts clear ochraceous; under surfaces of wings and tail blackish; bill black; feet brown: whole length 58 inches, wing 31, tail 22. _Female_ above dark brown, tinged with blue on the head and rump; below like the male.

_Hab._ South America from Venezuela to Paraguay and Northern Argentina.

This Tanager, which was found by Azara in Paraguay, occurs in Tuc.u.man.

An adult male obtained by Herr Schulz in this province is in the collection of Hans, Graf von Berlepsch.

36. STEPHANOPHORUS LEUCOCEPHALUS (Vieill.).

(WHITE-CAPPED TANAGER.)

[Plate IV.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: STEPHANOPHORUS LEUCOCEPHALUS.]

+Stephanophorus leucocephalus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 20; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 170 (Buenos Ayres); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 597 (Misiones); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii.

p. 90 (Concepcion); _Scl. Cat. B._ xi. p. 143. +Stephanophorus cruleus+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 480 (Parana).

_Description._--Uniform deep blue; cap silky white, with a small crimson crest; bill brownish black, feet brown: whole length 7 inches, wing 4, tail 33. _Female_ similar, but not quite so bright in colour.

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

Azara gave the generic name _Lindo_ (beautiful) to the Tanagers, and this species he named the "Blue White-headed Beautiful," the entire plumage being of a very lovely deep corn-flower blue, except a cap of silvery-white feathers on the head, with a crimson spot on the forehead, looking like a drop of blood.

It is a summer bird in Buenos Ayres, where it makes its appearance in spring in the woods bordering on the Plata river, and is usually seen singly or in pairs. The nest is built in a tree ten or twelve feet from the ground, and is somewhat shallow and lined with soft dry gra.s.s.

The female lays four eggs, white and spotted with deep red. During incubation the male sits concealed in the thick foliage close by, amusing itself by the hour with singing, its performance consisting of chattering disconnected notes uttered in so low a tone as to make one fancy that the bird is merely trying to recall some melody it has forgotten, or endeavouring to construct a new one by jerking out a variety of sounds at random. The bird never gets beyond this unsatisfactory stage, however, and must be admired for its exquisite beauty alone.

37. TANAGRA SAYACA, Linn.

(BLUE TANAGER.)

+Tanagra cyanoptera+, _Durnford, Ibis_, 1878, p. 59 (Buenos Ayres); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 91 (Concepcion); _Scl.

Cat. B._ xi. p. 157 (part.). +Tanagra sayaca+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 479 (Parana); _Berl. Zeitschr. ges. Orn._ 1885, p. 119, _Scl. Cat. B._ xi. p. 158.

_Description._--Bluish grey, paler below; wings and tail blackish, edged with greenish blue; lesser wing-coverts dull greenish blue, like the edgings of the wings; bill plumbeous, feet brown: whole length 60 inches, wing 36, tail 27. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ S.E. Brazil and Argentina.

In the 'Catalogue of Birds' I referred the Argentine Blue Tanager to _T.

cyanoptera_, though expressing a doubt upon the subject. I am now disposed to adopt Graf. v. Berlepsch's view that the Argentine species rather belongs to _T. sayaca_.--P. L. S.

This species migrates as far south as Buenos Ayres, and appears in spring, in small flocks or parties of three or four birds, in the woods on the sh.o.r.es of the Plata. The male utters a series of peculiar squealing notes by way of song.

38. TANAGRA BONARIENSIS (Gm.).

(BLUE-AND-YELLOW TANAGER.)

+Tanagra bonariensis+, _Berl. Zeitschr. ges. Orn._ 1885, p. 119; _Scl. Cat. B._ xi. p. 164. +Tanagra striata+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 480 (Buenos Ayres, Mendoza, Cordova); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 21; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 170 (Buenos Ayres); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 596 (Catamarca); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 91 (Concepcion).

_Description._--Lores, region round the eyes, and back black; rump orange; head all round and edging of wings and tail blue; abdomen yellow, pa.s.sing into orange on the breast; bill horn-colour; feet brown: whole length 7 inches, wing 36, tail 28. _Female_ greyish brown; beneath paler, tinged with yellowish olive on the rump and throat.

_Hab._ South Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentine Republic, and Bolivia.

The plumage of the male of this fine Tanager is rich blue above and yellow beneath; the upper plumage of the female is a uniform dull olive-green, the breast and belly buff-colour.

It is a migratory species, which appears in Buenos Ayres in small flocks in summer. Both s.e.xes have a long, sharp, reedy call-note; the male also possesses a song composed of notes with a peculiar bleating sound.

39. PYRANGA AZARae, d'Orb.

(AZARA'S TANAGER.)