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The Rcd-cresied Cardi7iai. n-,
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a cheerful scroopj- whistling, interspersed ^vith a few jerky clear notes. All the
South American species, so far as I know them, sing precisely alike; nor can their
song be readily distinguished from that of the Saffron Pinch, excepting in its bre^-ity.
The traveller will probably explain that, in their native wilds, birds sing much
better than in captivity. Sometimes this is so, sometimes the reverse is the case
But, however freedom and native air might act upon a Red-crested Cardinal tliey
could no more abolish the stopper-screwing scroopiness from its song, than' they
do in the case of our native Corn Bunting.
According to Bnrmeister this species " Inhabits, singly or in pairs, the damp
bushy plains on the borders of the large rivers in the interior of Brazil, namely
the Rio St. Francisco below its confluence with the Rio das Velhas."
" T h e bird is found in an area which extends southwards as far as Montevideo
and makes its nest in dense thickets, builds a fairly large nest with dry stalks at
a moderate height, and lays three to four longish oval white eggs, closely sprinkled
with gre3'ish-green spots, darkest at the larger end."
^ Other writers speak of it as a wood frequenting bird, rarely seen either in the
plains or swamps. Its nesting season is from the end of October to the middle
of November.
The nest, according to Mr. E. Gibson, "is generally placed at the end of a
branch of a tala tree, about eight or ten feet from the ground. It is a large
shallow construction, built of wild vine tendrils or twigs and wood, and lined with
horse-hair. Sometimes the last material greatly predominates; and I have then seen
the nest so frail that one could see through the bottom of it. The uneasy
approaches of the birds frequently betray its situation, should an intruder appear
in the ^•lClnlt^•. Three is the largest and most usual number of eggs laid. The
clutches of eggs vary greatly in appearance, and still more so in size."
Mr. Gibson states further, that the commonest type of egg is of a brownish
ground-colour, thickly marked with brown spots; whilst others have a greenish
ground-colour, with the spots inclining towards "the larger end, where they also
form a dark zone. The latter would nearly resemble those described by Burmeister.
Mr. Hudson says of this species, as observed bj- him in the Aro-entines —
" T h e song has little ^•ariety, but is remarkably loud, and has that cheerful ring
which most people admire in their caged pets, possibly because it produces the
idea in the listener's mind that the songster is glad to be a prisoner As a cage
bird this Finch enjoys an extraordinary popularity; and a stranger in Buenos Ayres
seeing the numbers that are exposed for sale by the bird-dealers in the markets of
that cit3-, might fancy that a Cardinal in a cage is considered a necessary part of
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