individuals. O f th e se th e foremost on th e lis t m u st b e th e names o f M. Ju le s Bourcier,
o f Paris, and Thomas Reeves, E sq ., o f R io d e Janeiro. B o th th e se g en tlem en have made
extensive collections o f specimens, and had numerous drawings prepared for th e express purpose
o f publishing works on th e subject, all o f w h ich w ith th e utm o st liberality ha v e been placed
at m y disposal. To M. Bourcier, th an w h om no o n e possesses a more in tim a te acquaintance
w ith th is group o f birds, I am likew ise indebted for m u ch valuable information, w h ich has been
a t all tim e s rendered w ith th e u tmost willingness and promptitude. M y thanks are also due to
th e Trustees and th e Keepers o f th e Zoological Departmen t o f th e British M u s eum ; to th e
Director o f th e Museum o f th e Jardin d es P lan tes a t P a r is ; to D r . Peters, Dir e cto r o f th e Ro y a l
Zoological Museum o f B e r lin ; to George U r e Skinner, E sq ., lo n g resident in G u a tem a la ; to
that intrepid traveller M. Warszew icz, n ow Directo r o f th e B o tan ic Garden a t Cracow, wh o ,
dinin g his travels in South America, brought to lig h t more n ew sp e c ie s o f H umm ing -B irds than
any other exp lo re r ; to m y friends Sir W illiam Jardine, B a r t .; W . C. L . Martin, E s q . ; T . C.
E y ton , E s q .,; Dr. S d a t e r ; Alfred N ew to n , E s q . ; M. Edouard Verreaux, o f P a r i s ; G. N .
Lawrence, E sq ., o f N ew Y o r k ; and D r . Baird, o f W a sh in g to n ; to Edward Wilson, E sq ., to
Sigismund Rucker, E sq ., F . Taylor, E sq ., o f L iv e rp o o l; W illiam Tucker, E sq ., o f T r in id ad ;
and to T. F . Erskine, E sq ., for th e readiness w ith w h ich th e y have a t all tim e s favoured m e w ith
b o th information and th e loan o f specimens. To Miss L od diges and h e r brother Mr. Conrad
Lod diges, I am under considerable obligations for th e fa cility o f a ccess th e y have a lways
afforded m e to th e v ery valuable co llection formed b y th e ir lamented father. N o r m ust th e
name o f another valued friend— th e late Prince Charles L u cien Bonaparte— b e om itted from
th e list o f th o se w h o took great interest in th e present work, h e ha v ing a t all tim e s rendered
m e that scientific assistance w h ich h is v ast and varied ta lents so w e ll enabled him to afford.
September 1, 1861.
INTRODUCTION.
T h e questions have often been asked, whence is the term Humming-Bird derived, and why is the bird so
called. I may state in reply that, owing to the rapid movement of the wings of most of the members of
this group, but especially o f the smaller species, a vibratory or humming sound is produced while the bird
is in the air, which may be heard at the distance of several yards, and that it is from this circumstance
that the trivial name by which these birds are known in England has arisen. In France they are recognized
by the terms Oiseau-mouche and Colibri ; in Germany their common appellation is Kolibri ; by the Dutch
they are called Kolibrielje ; by the Spaniards P ic a flo res and Tomino ; by the Portuguese Tomeneco and
B e ija flo r ; in the neighbourhood o f Xalapa they are known by the names of Chupa-rosa and Chupa-myrta,
Rose-sucker and Myrtle-sucker ; by the Creoles of the Antilles and Guiana they are known by the names
of Murmures, Bourdons, and Frou-frous. From the Mexicans, Peruvians, and other nations of South
America they have received various appellations, such as Ourissia, huitzitzil, tzitzto to tl, guanumbi, quinti or
quintiut, quindé, visicilin, p ig d a , and courbiri,— all terms o f a metaphorical character, signifying “ rays of the
sun,” “ tresses o f the day-star,” “ murmuring birds,” &c.
Linnæus applied to the whole o f the species known to him the generic appellation o f Trochilus (a name
given by the ancients to some fabulous little bird), whence is derived the family designation T ro -
c h il id æ . By Brisson, a contemporary o f Linnæus, the terms Polytmus and Mellisuga were proposed ; but
with respect to some o f the thirty-six species described by him, as well as by the older writers such as Seba,
Marcgrave, Willughby, Ray, &c., it is extremely difficult, i f not impossible, to determine what they really
were. We may, however, fairly commence our investigations with a greater chance o f accuracy from the
date when the great Swedish naturalist commenced his labours. By him twenty-two species were enumerated
in the twelfth edition of his ‘ Systema Naturae.’ In Gmelin’s, or the thirteenth edition, the list is increased
to sixty-seven. Of these. I have determined about two-thirds; the remainder must for ever continue
involved in mystery, and their names be erased from our scientific works—the descriptions being extremely
meagre, and the synonyms occasionally referring to figures o f very different species. In some instances,
even, the species are attributed to countries where Humming-Birds are never found ; while in others, such
as that o f the Harlequin Humming-Bird, the characters are taken from a plate which must have been drawn
from imagination and not from any real specimen. These are a few o f the difficulties which a naturalist
has to encounter when access to the types cannot be obtained. I think it necessary to make this statement