_Grass Pink, or Savanna bird._—+Rob.+
_Coturniculus tixicrus._—+Mihi.+
[67] Length 5 inches, expanse 7³⁄₄, flexure 2²⁄₁₀, tail 1⁶⁄₁₀,
rictus ⁵⁄₁₀, tarsus ⁹⁄₁₀, middle toe ⁷⁄₁₀, hind toe ¹³⁄₂₀,
(including claw ⁶⁄₂₀). Irides hazel; feet flesh-colour, beak
greyish, culmen deep brown. Crown deep bistre, with a central white
stripe reaching to the nape. Feathers of back, rump, wing and
tail coverts, with black disks, chestnut tips, and narrow white
edges. Quills dusky, with the outer edge whitish, third and fourth
longest; secondaries reaching to within ⁷⁄₂₀ inch of primaries:
edge of shoulder brilliant yellow. Tail feathers narrow, acute,
nearly even, brown, with the medial portion black. A yellow band
over the eye. Under parts white, tinged with umber on throat,
breast, and sides, but unspotted.
Intermediate between _C. Henslowi_ and _C. passerinus_, the Tichicro
differs from the former in its unspotted breast, its nearly even
tail, the secondaries considerably short of the primaries, the bill
arched, the deep colour of the head and the coronal streak. From the
latter, by the tail feathers being acute, by the third and fourth
quills being longest, and by having more chestnut on the wings. In the
admeasurements it differs from both.
This modest little bird is not common, except in certain localities;
it is sometimes seen in open pastures, running on the ground, but more
frequently in fields of guinea-grass. In a grass-piece at Peter’s
Vale, it may be found at all times of the year, frequently rising from
behind a tussock just before the traveller’s feet, flying a little way
with feeble wing, and then sinking among the high grass, where it will
remain, until one again come close to it, for it seems little inclined
to flight. I have several times seen a single one by the sides of the
road to Savanna-le-Mar, where it passes through the marshy flats of
Paradise; and occasionally one frequents the pasture of Bluefields. I
have never observed it on a tree, nor even on a bush, except on one
occasion, early in March, when one was sitting on the log-wood fence
at Paradise, warbling sweetly, and fearlessly continuing its song,
though myself and two other persons stood looking at it within two or
three yards. More frequently it utters its warbling chant sitting on a
flat stone, or on the bare ground among the grass tufts. Its song is
melodious, but simple; consisting of a few notes rapidly repeated in a
single strain, _pettichee, pettichee, pettichee_, when it is silent for
a moment, and begins again. This, as far as I am aware, is peculiar to
the vernal season; at other times it has a singular call, as it skulks
in its grassy coverts, _cro-cro-tichicro_, whence its provincial name.
I have been able to learn nothing of the nidification of this Sparrow;
its small size, sombre plumage, and retiring habits have prevented its
obtaining much notoriety; indeed it was unknown to Mr. Hill, until I
happened to shoot one when in company with him at St. Thomas in the
Vale. I suspect it makes its nest in the midst of a grass tuft, or on
the ground among them; where it would be very unlikely to be met with,
as these tufts are never cut, nor are they eaten down by stock to
within eighteen inches of the ground.
One day in April, when the sun was pouring down his unmitigated rays, I
observed a Tichicro walking towards a little rain-puddle in the middle
of the road. Seeing me, however, it retired to the wayside, and did
not fly away, though within a few feet of my horse, but stood looking
wistfully at the puddle. I thought it had been going to drink, but as
it began to ruffle its plumage and shake its wings, I saw that it had
been bathing. I then rode on a few steps, leaving the pool clear, when
it immediately ran to the edge, and walked into the shallow water,
bending its legs and sitting down in it; then it immersed its head, and
shook the water over its body, with the pretty action common to birds
bathing. It seemed greatly to enjoy the relief from the heat, and only
reluctantly left the water on the approach of another passenger.
The Tichicro is certainly a perennial inhabitant of the island, and
seems confined to the lowland districts, or to hills of moderate
elevation.