PHAETHORNIS EURYNOME.
Eurynome Hermit.
T ro ch ilu s E u r y n om e , Less. Troch., p. 91- pi- 31.
— E u r y n om u s , Jard. N a t. Lib. H umm in g Birds, vol. ii. p. 121. pi. 28.
P h c e to r n is eu r yn om u s , G ray and Mitch. Gen. o f Birds, P h c e to rn is, sp. 5.
W h e n M. Lesson published his “ Trochilidees ” in 1 8 3 1 , he had only seen two examples o f this elegant
species, one in the possession o f M. Bevalet, and the other in the collection o f M. Longuemare; since that
period so many have been sent from Rio de Janeiro, that it is evident the bird must be very abundant
in that part o f Brazil. I have examined at least a hundred specimens of different ages and sexes, all of
which were very similar, the females merely differing from the males in being of a smaller s iz e : among
those in my possession, however, are two specimens clothed in the usual style of plumage, but having a rich
pink tint pervading the lower part of the abdomen, deepening in one o f them to a reddish hue; the feet
have also evidently been o f the same colour: in the absence o f all data respecting this singular state of
colouring, I am induced to believe it to be attributable to some peculiar and at present unknown cause,
rather than an indication that these individuals belong to a distinct species.
Head dark blackish brown, each feather margined with reddish, which is more apparent in some specimens
than others; back o f the neck, wing-coverts, and upper surface dark green, with a slight golden
reflexion, all the feathers scaled with brown, particularly on the upper tail-coverts; wings purplish brown ;
basal portion o f the tail o f the same colour as the back, but deepening into black towards the tips o f the
lateral feathers and the middle o f the two central ones, the lateral feathers with a mark o f white at their
tips resembling the letter V ; apical half o f the central feathers white; over the eye a broad stripe of
reddish buff; over the ear-coverts a large patch o f black; from the angle o f the beak on either side is a
streak o f buff; feathers o f the throat brownish black, margined with buff; all the under surface greyish
brown, assuming a sooty hue on the breast, and washed with buff on the vent and under tail-coverts ; upper
mandible and tip o f the lower one black, basal three-fourths o f the latter orange ; feet brownish yellow.
Total length, 65- inches ; bill, ; wing, ; tail, 2f-; tarsus,
The above is the average admeasurement o f several males; the females assimilate to the males in the
style o f their colouring, but are o f a much smaller size, and the young assume the adult colouring from the
nest.
All the nests I have seen have been attached to the pendent leaves o f palms and other trees growing in
the neighbourhood o f water or in humid situations, and the ingenuity with which these little birds attach
their nests with cobwebs and other slight materials to the leaves is truly wonderful: the beautiful nest
represented is formed o f the most delicate tendrils and roots of trees; it is a somewhat shallow and frail
structure, lengthened into a point below. I believe that the eggs, which are white, are generally two in
number.
The figures are all o f the natural size.