Nuevos datos sobre Limnoctites rectirostris

Abstract

The furnarid Limnoctites rectirostris (Gould) was known till now by only a few specimens in the collections of England, the United States, Argentina, and Uruguay, all proceeding from the La Plata region, most of them from Uruguayan territory. The dates of all these specimens are given (place and date of capture and in which collection preserved). All of them were obtained in extensive reed beds and high grasses, especially in "caraguatá" (Eryngium), around the great swamps and lakes. But in April 1965, the authors found this bird and collected 8 specimens in the department (province) of Cerro Largo in Eastern Uruguay, in a rocky region, far from great lakes or swamps, where it was found in abundance in the valleys of little creeks, tributaries of the Tacuarí River, and not in reed beds but in spiny grasses, mostly in "caraguatá". Some of the obtained specimens are young ones. The authors believe that this species is not so rare as it was considered before, and explain its scarcity in collections by the difficulty in shooting it in the inaccessible marshes, often underwater, and recognizing it at a distance, as it is very much like some other species. Therefore, the chief field marks and differentiating features with other furnarid species that live in the same landscape are indicated.