with at certain seasons; but whether it leaves the island, or retires to the interior, I am not at present prepared to
say. I t is seldom to be found in open sunshine: the mornings and evenings are its principal times for feeding, and
its evolutions then are truly pleasing,—at one instant suspended immovable to the eye (although alternately
showing the purest white and green), at the very top o f our tallest bamboo, guava, or other tree, and at the next
moment at the root, w ith two or three zigzags right and left, up and down, dipping either into the river or snapping
a fly from the surface, and then disappearing. I think it probable that this bird feeds more upon winged insects
than most o f the others, which may account for its being seen so early in the calm mornings, retiring generally into
the thick wild plantain bushes as soon as the sun begins to spread his rays upon them, and appearing again in the
evening when he is going down, or when his rays cease to act upon their spot o f pleasure. A female shot on the
19th o f April contained an egg almost perfect.”—Haras Zoobgicae, by Sir W. Jardine, Bt., in Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist.
vol. xx. p. 373.
133. F l o r i s u g a a t r a .................................................................................................................................................... Vol.
Lampomis niger, Jard. Nat. Lib. Humming-Birds, vol. ii. p. 156.
Fhrisuga fusca, Reichenb. Aufz. der Col. p. 14; Id. Troch. Enum. p. 1 2 ; Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii. p. 29.
Habitat. Eastern Brazil.
That all the Humming-Birds are not yet discovered we may very reasonably conjecture, and we may ask what
will be our next novelty in this group o f birds. This remark has suggested itse lf upon finding next in succession
the singular little Michrochera dbocormata. Although America has been discovered for more than 300 years, and
collectors have been employed for the last fifty in searching for its treasures o f various kinds, we had no knowledge
o f the existence o f this bird until 1852, when Dr. J. K. Merritt shot three examples in the district o f B elen in New
Granada.
Genus M ic r o c h e r a , Gould.
(lUKpos, parvus, et xbPa> vidua.)
Generic characters.
Male.—B ill about the same length as the head, and straight; wings moderate; tail rather short and sq uar e;
tarsi clothed; fe e t small; claws diminutive.
134. M ic r o c h e r a a l b o c o r o n a t a , G o u l d Vol. § |f
Habitat. The district o f Belen in New Granada.
A considerable hiatus here occurs, which cannot at present be filled up, and w e come to the elegant frill-necked
Coquettes, the Lophornithes; and with these I commence the third volume.
They are among the most beautiful o f the smaller members o f the Trochilidae, and are distinguished by the
possession o f lengthened ornamental plumes springing from the sides o f the neck, which generally have a spangle of
metallic lustre at the tip ; they are further ornamented with beautiful lengthened crests, which are developed to a
greater extent in some species than in others; in those in which the neck-plumes are the longest, the crests are
least so, and vice versd. They are spread over a great part o f America, from Mexico along the Andes to Bolivia;
they also occur in Brazil, the Guianas, and the Island o f Trinidad.
Genus L o p h o r n i s , Less.
135. L o p h o r n i s o r n a t u s ..........................................................................................................................................Vol. III. PI. 117.
Habitat. Northern Brazil, Guiana, and Trinidad.
Mr. W. Tucker informs me that in Trinidad this species “ frequents the pastures and open places, and visits
the flowers o f all the small shrubs, but is particularly fond o f those o f the Ipecacuanha plant, and that it is very
pugnacious, erecting its crest, throwing out its whiskers, and attacking every Humming-Bird that may pass within
its range o f vision.”
136. L o p h o r n i s G o u l d i . . . . . . • • • • • • • Vol. III. PI. 118.
Habitat. Northern Brazil.
137. L o p h o r n i s m a g n i f i c u s Vol. III. PI. 119.
Ornismya strumaria, Dev. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1852, p. 215.
Habitat. South-eastern Brazil.
138. L o p h o r n i s R e g u l u s , Gould ............................ Vol. III. PI. 120.
Habitat. Cochabamba in Bolivia.
I possess a bird o f this genus from Peru, with a more truncate form o f crest than that o f L. Regulus, the fine
feathers of which are rather largely tipped with spangles of dark green. This may probably prove to be, and I
believe is, really distinct; I have consequently proposed for it the specific name o f lophotes. In size and colouring
it very closely resembles the L. Regulus, with the exceptional difference in the form o f the crest.
1 3 9 . L o p h o r n i s l o p h o t e s , Gould.
Habitat. Peru.
1 4 0 . L o p h o r n i s D e l a t t r e i , Less Vol. III. PI. 1 2 1 .
Habitat. New Granada.
1 4 1 . L o p h o r n i s R e g in ^e , G o u ld .......................................................................................................................... Vol. III. PI. 1 2 2 .
Habitat. New Granada.
Mr. Fraser, who killed an example at Zamora, in Ecuador, states that the irides o f this species are black,
and its mandibles reddish flesh-colour, with a black tip ; he adds that it was feeding from a large Guarumba tree.
142. L o p h o r n i s H e l e n x E . Vol. III. PI. 1 2 3 .
Habitat. Guatemala and Southern Mexico.
Mr. Salvin states that this species is not uncommon in the vicinity of Coban, and that its cry “ is peculiarly
shrill and unlike that o f any other species I k now ; hence its presence may be noticed if only the cry o f a passing
bird be heard. I t feeds among the Salvia that so abound in the mountain-hollows about Coban; and it is said also
to show a partiality for the flowers o f the Tasisco when that tree is in full bloom in the month o f December. In
the month o f November females o f this species are very rare. Of the specimens I collected, there was only one
female to seventeen males.
“ In the Indian language o f Coban, Lophornis Helena has, besides the name - Tzunnun, which is applied to all
the small Humming-Birds, the additional name o f ‘ Achshukub.’ The Spanish name is * E l Gorrion Caclmdo the
Horned Humming-Bird.”—Ibis, vol. ii. p. 268.
Although I hare placed all the species known hy the tririal name o f Coquettes in the genus Lophornis, the
L. chnlyhens and L. Verreouxi hare been separated by M. Cabanis into a distinct genus, under the name o f Polmislria.
Genus P o l e m j s t r ia , Cab.
These birds, as will be seen on reference to the plates on which they are represented, vary considerably from
all the true Lophornithes; the feathers o f the neck-fnU are very different, and the tail is much longer and more
rounded. I shall not be surprised if- another species o f this peculiar form should be discovered; for I have in my
possession the skin o f a female from Bogota, which I am inclined to think is the female o f an unknown species.
1 4 3 . POLEMISTRIA CHALYBEA.
T 7 • Lophornis crh ai lIy b e u s ................................................................... ................... Vol. III. PI. 1 2 4 .
Habitat. Brazil.
1 4 4 . P o iiEM ISTR IA V e RREAUXI.
T . . „ . . . . Vol. III. PI. 1 2 5 . Lophornis Verreauxi . . • • • • • • •
Habitat. Peru.
I shall now proceed to the single species of the genus Diseora. The band which crosses the lower part of the
back allies this bird to the Lophornithes on the one hand, and to Prymmcantha and the Gouliue on the other.
Genus D is c u r a , Bonap.
Vol. III. PI. 1 2 6 .
1 4 5 . D i s c u r a l o n g i c a u d a .......................................................................................................
Habitat. Cayenne, Brazil, and Guiana.