This pretty little bird, the only species of the large South-American family _Cotingidæ_ with which I am acquainted, comes as far south as Buenos Ayres, but is very scarce. It lives in woods, and is a shy, solitary bird with nothing in its flight and general appearance to distinguish it from a Tyrant-bird. When flying, it utters a whistling note. In January 1887, Durnford met with a pair of this species of Bécard in the riverain wood near Belgrano, and secured the male. They were busy catching flies, making frequent sallies from a willow tree in pursuit of them. Mr. Barrows obtained three specimens of what was probably the same bird at Concepcion in Entrerios, in November 1886 (_see_ Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl. viii. p. 203). [Illustration: _a._ First primary of a male _Pachyrhamphus_. _b._ Second ditto.] In the _male_ of this species, as in many other Bécards, the second primary is abnormally shortened, being only about one inch in length. See remarks on this subject in P. Z. S. 1857, p. 72, whence the woodcut exhibiting this strange feature is taken by kind permission. 174. CASIORNIS RUBRA (Vieill.). (RUFOUS CHEESE-BIRD.) +Suiriri roxo+, _Azara, Apunt._ ii. p. 128. +Casiornis rubra+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 57. _Description._--Above uniform ferruginous, lores paler; beneath lighter, belly yellowish; bill horn-colour, yellowish at the base; feet plumbeous: whole length 6·8 inches, wing 3·4, tail 3·1. _Female_ similar. _Hab._ S. Brazil, Paraguay, and N. Argentina. White obtained a female specimen of this bird at Campo Colorado, Oran, in November 1880; it is now in Sclater's Collection. Fam. XVI. PHYTOTOMIDÆ, or PLANT-CUTTERS. The peculiar form _Phytotoma_, remarkable for its toothed Fringilline bill, was associated by the older authors with the Finches. But modern researches have shown that it is not an Oscinine genus, and that its true place is near the _Cotingidæ_; indeed, some authors have placed it within the limits of that family. Of the four known species of Plant-cutters, all restricted to South America, one is a well-known denizen of the Argentine Republic. 175. PHYTOTOMA RUTILA, Vieill. (RED-BREASTED PLANT-CUTTER.) [Plate VIII.] [Illustration: PHYTOTOMA RUTILA ♂ et ♀] +Phytotoma rutila+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 451 (Paraná, Mendoza, Cordova, Tucuman, Catamarca); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 60; _Hudson, P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 537 (Rio Negro); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 203 (Entrerios); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 609 (Catamarca).