Bulletin - United States National Museum - si-pddr - Smithsonian ...

276 BULLETIN 133, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
tember 7); Dolores, Buenos Aires, October 21; Lavalle, Buenos
Aires, October 29 to November 13 (adult male, November 13) ;
Victorica, Pampa, December 26 (adult male) ; Carrasco, Uruguay,
January 9 and 16, 1921; La Paloma, Uruguay, January 23; San
Vicente, Uruguay, January 25 to February 2; Lazcano, Rocha,
February 3 to 9 (two adult males, February 3) ; Rio Negro, Uruguay,
February 17 to 19; Guamini, Buenos Aires, March 3 to 8
(four taken March 6 include adult and immature males and fe-
males).
The material secured indicates that there are two forms of this
curious and interesting bird, but as the ranges to be assigned and
the names to be applied are uncertain my notes are given under the
specific name. Two skins from the vicinity of Puerto Pinasco,
Paraguay, in the Chaco, are somewhat duller in color and seem
more heavily streaked above than those from the pampas. Two
skins from Formosa are somewhat intermediate in appearance
between these two northern birds and the paler, huffier, less heavily
streaked birds secured in the Province of Buenos Aires and Uruguay.
Vieillot takes his Furnarius annurribi from Azara, but makes
no mention of locality. Azara (vol. 2, p. 226) remarks that the
anunibi is fairly common, without being abundant in the countries
of the Rio de la Plata, and that it seems most common in Paraguay.
Paraguay is commonly accepted as the type locality. Anthus
acuticaudatus Lesson *° is described with no locality indicated.
Anunibius anthoides d'Orbigny and Lafresnaye*^ was said to have
come from Corrientes, which is near the boundary of Paraguay.
This species ranges through areas of open brush, often scanty in
character, or may even penetrate far into the open where heavy
growths of thistles afford low coverts. During the entire year it
seems to remain paired, so that only after the close of the breeding
season, when grown young still accompanied their parents,
were more than two found in company. The birds were tame,
inconspicuous, and usually quiet in actions. They fed on the ground
where they walked about on open grass sward or in shelter of low
tussocks or clumps of weeds. Often they rested on fence posts or
wires at a considerable distance from cover. When alarmed or at
rest it was usual for them to seek refuge near their stick nests, or
in spiny clumps of thistles, and when frightened they passed from
one such covert to another, dropping down to fly with a direct or
slightly undulating flight just above the ground. Save for an
occasional flash of white from the tail they were wholly plain in
appearance.
>« Traits Ornith., 1831,, p. 424. « j^Iag. Zool., 1838, CI. II, p. 17.