(MOURNING FINCH.)
+Phrygilus fruticeti+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii, p. 487 (Cordillera
of Mendoza); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 31; _Hudson, P. Z. S._
1872, p. 537 (Rio Negro); _Durnford, Ibis_, 1878, p. 393
(Chupat); _Döring, Exp. al Rio Negro, Zool._ p. 39 (R. Colorado,
R. Negro). +Emberiza luctuosa+, _Eyd. et Gerv. Mag. de Zool._,
1836, _Ois_, pl. 72.
_Description._--Grey, with minute black markings on the head and
neck, and broader stripes on the back; greater coverts and wings
black, the feathers edged with grey, and a band of white spots
across the coverts; tail black; beneath, throat, and upper part of
breast black, many feathers tipped with grey, giving the chest a
mottled appearance; lower part of breast and belly grey, mottled
below the chest with a few black spots; centre of abdomen and under
tail-coverts white; beak yellow; feet flesh-colour: total length 7·3
inches, wing 4·0, tail 3·2. _Female_ obscure grey and without the
black colour on the throat and chest.
_Hab._ Peru, Bolivia, Chili, and Argentine Republic.
This Finch is common on the western slopes of the Andes as far north as
Peru; it is also found in the Mendoza district and throughout Patagonia.
It is very abundant on the Rio Negro, especially in the immediate
neighbourhood of the Carmen settlements, for, like the Chingolo and
other fringilline species, it is beneficially affected by cultivation.
Though not possessing any bright tints, it is a very charming bird,
tuneful, elegant in form, graceful and buoyant in its motions. When
approached it utters a series of low ticking sounds, and at intervals a
peculiar long squealing note. The song of the male is very agreeable,
and curiously resembles that of the Cachila Pipit (_Anthus correndera_).
It usually sits on a twig near the ground, and at intervals soars up
to a height of ten or twenty yards, and utters its song while gliding
slowly downwards with depressed wings and outspread tail. It sings
throughout the year; in bright weather its notes are heard all day long,
but on cold, cloudy, or wet days only after sunset. In the warm season
they live in pairs, and in the autumn unite in flocks of as many as two
or three hundred individuals, and have a strong undulating flight.