(MAGELLANIC THRUSH.)
+Turdus magellanicus+, _Seebohm, Cat. B._ v. p. 223, pl. xiv. +Turdus
falklandicus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 2; _Hudson, P. Z. S._
1872, p. 548 (Rio Negro); _Döring, Exp. al Rio Negro, Zool._ p.
36 (R. Colorado and R. Negro).
_Description._--Head, wings, and tail brownish black; the remaining
portions of upper surface brownish olive; under surface pale
rufous, obscure on the breast; throat white, striped with black;
bill and feet dull yellow: total length 10·5 inches, wing 7·5, tail
4·0. _Female_ similar.
_Hab._ Patagonia and Chili.
This Thrush, which I met with on the Rio Negro of Patagonia, so closely
approximates to _T. rufiventris_ in colour, language, and habits, that
the casual observer finds it difficult to distinguish one from the
other. Its nest and eggs are also precisely like those of its northern
representative. The song is, however, much poorer, and reminds one of
the first attempts of a young bird. That a member of so melodious a
family should have so inferior a song I attribute to the fact that
Thrushes (unlike the songsters of other genera) sing only in the
warm season and when the air is calm. In the southern portion of the
South-American continent violent winds prevail in summer, so that this
southern Thrush sings perhaps less frequently than any other song-bird,
and appears to be losing the faculty of song altogether.