(MARSH FINCH.)
+Spermophila palustris+, _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 82
(Concepcion); _Sharpe, Cat. B._ xii. p. 112.
_Description._--Above, from bill to rump, clear bluish ash; below,
from bill to middle of breast, including lower eyelid, ear-coverts,
and sides of neck, pure white; rest of underparts, rump, and upper
tail-coverts bright chestnut-red; wings and tail blackish brown,
edged with whitish; inner secondaries black, their tips and outer
edges broadly white; a white patch across the base of all the
primaries except the first two; bill and feet black, iris dark:
total length 4·50 inches, wing 2·18, tail 1·70. _Female_ above
uniform greenish olive, obscurely streaked with dusky; below light
yellowish buff; wings and tail nearly as in male, but duller.
This small and beautiful Finch was discovered by Mr. Barrows in February
1880, on the Lower Uruguay. It inhabits the marshes, where the males
are frequently seen pursuing each other in the pairing-season,
occasionally pausing on the top of some tall grass to pour out their
delightful song. In character this resembles that of the Black-headed
Goldfinch; but has, Mr. Barrows says, a variety and sweetness far beyond
the powers of that bird.
It is just possible that Mr. Barrows's Finch may be Azara's unidentified
_Chipiu pardo y canela_ (Apuntamientos, vol. i. no. 143), which has the
same habits, living in the dense reed-beds of the Paraguayan marshes,
and is also a delightful singer,--superior to the Goldfinch or Canary,
Azara says.