This bird is not very common. Those which I saw lived on the ground in dry and open places, and did not frequent the neighbourhood of lakes abounding with rushes or thickets, like the greater number of species of Synallaxis, and the allied genus Limnornis. The flight of this bird is peculiar, which seems chiefly due to the length of its elegantly acuminated tail. It sometimes alights and rests on the summit of a thistle or twig, a habit different from that of any species of the genus which I have seen. Its manner of living and feeding on the ground might have been suspected, from the length of the soft secondaries, like those of a lark or of _Furnarius cunicularius_. The claws also of the front toes are produced and perhaps they are rather straighter than in other members of the family. The tongue is bifid and divided into bristly points. The nest, of which I have seen two, is very peculiar. It is cylindrical, about two feet long, and placed vertically in the middle of a thick bush in an exposed situation. It is made externally of prickly branches, and is very large compared with the size of the bird. The opening is at the upper extremity, from which a passage leads to the true nest, which is lined with feathers and hairs. There is a slight bend in the passage both at its exit and where it enters the nest. [Illustration: _Birds. Pl. 22._ _Synallaxis major._ ] [Illustration: _Birds. Pl. 23._ _Synallaxis rufogularis._ ] 3. SYNALLAXIS RUFOGULARIS. _Gould._ PLATE XXIII. _S. olivaceo fuscus plumis singulis maculâ oblongâ fusco nigrâ; remigibus primariis secundariisque basi ferrugineo fuscis, apice nigro fuscis, flavescenti albo marginatis; lineâ superciliari, mento abdomineque medio flavescenti albis; gulâ ferrugineo fuscâ; pectore fulvescenti fusco, plumis singulis striâ pallidiore centrali ornatis._ Long. tot. 6½ unc.; _rost._ ⅞; _alæ_, 3; _caudæ_, 3¼; _tarsi_, 1. Head and all the upper surface and two centre tail feathers, brown, with a large oblong patch of brownish black down the centre of each feather; primaries, except the three outer ones, bounded posteriorly with an irregular line of black; secondaries, rusty brown at the base, and brown for the remainder of their length, margined all round with greyish olive; lateral tail feathers brownish black, largely tipped with tawny white; stripe from the nostrils over each eye, chin, and centre of the abdomen, pale buff; sides of the face and throat grey, with a spot of dark brown down the centre of each feather; in the centre of the throat, a patch of ferruginous brown; chest, pale brownish buff, with a fine pale stripe down each feather; bill and feet brown. Habitat, Patagonia. (_April._) Valparaiso. (_September._)