(WHITE-TAILED TYRANT.)
+Agriornis maritima+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 41; _Durnford,
Ibis_, 1878, p. 394 (Chupat); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._
vol. viii. p. 137 (Sierra de la Ventana). +Agriornis leucurus+,
_Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 459 (Mendoza).
_Description._--Above cinereous; secondaries edged externally and
tipped with white; tail dark cinereous, the four external rectrices
with the whole outer webs and about the one-third apical part of
the inner webs white, the median rectrices tipped with white; below
paler cinereous; throat greyish white, slightly striated with dark
cinereous; lower belly, crissum, flanks, and under wing-coverts
while, more or less tinged with cinnamomeous; bill and feet black:
whole length 9·0 inches, wing 5·3, tail 4·0. _Female_ similar.
_Hab._ Argentina, Patagonia, Chili, and Bolivia.
This _Agriornis_ was obtained by Durnford at Tombo Point in Central
Patagonia, by Burmeister in the Sierra de Uspallata, near Mendoza, and
by Barrows in the rocky gorges of the Sierra de la Ventana.
Darwin tells us of this species that it "is a scarce, shy, solitary
bird, frequenting the valleys in which thickets grow, but often feeding
on the ground. In the interior plains of Patagonia, on the banks of the
Santa Cruz, I several times saw it chasing beetles on the wing, in a
peculiar manner, half hopping and half flying; when thus employed it
spreads its tail, and the white feathers in it are displayed in a very
conspicuous manner. I also met with the species in the lofty and arid
valleys on the eastern side of the Cordillera of Central Chili, and
likewise at Copiapo." (Zool. Voy. 'Beagle,' iii. p. 57.)