PHAETHORNI S NIGRICINCTUS, Lawr.
Belted Hermit.
Ph eeth ornis n ig n c in c tu s , Lawr. in Ann. L y c . N a t. H ist. N ew York, vol. vi. p. 2 60.
No group of birds requires greater care in discriminating its various members than the little Phaethorni, of
which there are evidently several'very distinct species, but which, from their minute size and their very
great similarity o f colour, it is most difficult to distinguish the one from the other. These various species
are distributed over the wide area extending from Mexico to Peru on the western, and from the Brazils to
the Caraccas on the eastern part o f the great continent o f America. Diminutive as they all are, the present
species may be regarded as the very smallest o f the group. I have long had a female specimen of this little
bird in my possession, sent from the neighbourhood o f the Rio Negro by Mr. Wallace, but deferred
describing it until I had seen the male: this sex is, I believe, at length before me, having been sent by
Mr. Lawrence o f New York as the type of his Phaethornis nigricinctus. Both Mr. Lawrence’s specimens
and my own have very lengthened bills, with the yellow colouring o f the under mandible extending almost
to the end, in which respect they differ from all the other members o f the genus, and especially from the
species I have named P . Episcopus, but to which they are otherwise most nearly allied. Mr. Lawrence’s
specimen was collected by Mr. Moore while descending one o f the tributaries of the Amazon from Quito to
Para: we may therefore infer that the little-known countries of the Upper Amazon are its true habitat.
The male has the upper surface bright bronzy green, browner on the head; upper tail-coverts bright
ferruginous; tail bronzed coppery brown, the outer margin o f the external feathers, the tips of the two
central feathers and the two next pairs on each side greyish white; wings purplish brown; under surface
deep rufous, with a broad purplish-black band across the breast; ear-coverfs black; above the eye a line of
rufous; upper mandible black; lower mandible orange-red, becoming paler towards the extreme end.
The female is coppery bronze above; has the tail-feathers o f a more lengthened and cuneate form and
largely tipped with buff; the whole o f the under surface rich buff; under mandible, with the exception of
the extreme tip, yellow.
PHAETHORNI S EPISCOPUS, Oouid.
Bishop Hermit.
P h a e th o rn is E p is c o p u s , Gould in Proc. o f Z ool. S o c ., part xxv. p. 14.
^ r / i i \-n iy j T T / n r , ' t - t / u n i t n Mfit ™ o f B ird s , vol. l. D. . o l. 3 2 ■
- will be seen that in this little section o f the Phaethorni the males o f some o f the species have their
reasts crossed by a distinct patch of lengthened purplish-black plumes, while in others no such mark
ccurs in either sex: in no instance have I seen this peculiar character carried to so great an extent as in
le present bird, which I received direct from Demerara. It differs from the P . p ygm x u s and the P . E r em ta
I the rich bronzy colouring o f its upper surface and in the greater breadth o f the black pectoral band, in
.e bronzy hue o f its tail, and in the small size of its wings. There is a little bird figured and described in
Id wards’s “ Natural History,” vol. i. pi. 32, said to be from Surinam, which may or may not be the female
f this species, and I merely refer t o # to show that it had not escaped my attention ; at the same time
lust observe, that it is impossible to say which species of these little birds it is intended to represent,
lesides the male, I possess an example which I consider to he a female of this species, also receive rom
lemerara. They are the only examples I have seen; I would therefore call the attention o f persons
esident in the fine country o f which the species is a native, to the desirability o f their sending additiona
xamples to Europe.
The male has the head, upper surface, and wing-coverts rich golden bronze; behind the eye a stripe of
o ff; wings purplish brown ; tail deep bronzy brown at the base, changing into rich brown near the apex,
nd slightly tipped with grey; rump rufous; ear-coverts black; under surface deep san y u , crosse on
he breast by a broad band o f purplish-black, somewhat elongated plumes; upper mandible and apical third
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