humid districts bordering the River Rirnac at Lima. It is seen in small troops composed o f six or eight couples,
which are constantly pursuing one another, and uttering a slight cry. It is very airy in its flight, and rarely permits
any other Humming-Bird to remain in its neighbourhood, but wages a continual and terrible war w ith them.
The largest species o f the luminous lilac-throated Peruvian Humming-Birds, the R. Vespera, constitutes the
Genus R h o d o p i s , Reichenb.,
which, as the form differs from all the others, I have no other alternative, i f I act with consistency, than to adopt.
I t has a deeply forked tail, the feathers o f which are narrow and rigid, not soft and yielding as in the T. Cora. I
have never seen a second species o f this particular form. The female, like that sex in many other allied genera, is
destitute o f brilliant colouring.
173. R h o d o p i s v e s p e r a ............................................................... . . . Vol. III. PI. 154.
Habitat. Peru.
Not less beautiful in the colouring of their gorgets are the members of the
Genus D o r ic h a , Reichenb.
The D. Eliza, the Guatemalan bird known as enicura, and the less-known Bahama species D . Evelyna are all
associated by me in this g en u s; and i f the plates on which they are respectively figured be referred to, it will be
seen how beautiful are the throat-markings o f the males.
1 7 4 . D o r ic h a E liza s .
Thaumastura E l i z t e ..................................................................................................................................................................^ 5 .
Thaumastura Eliza, Montes de Oca in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. 1860, p. 552.
Habitat. Southern Mexico.
“ This,” says M. Montes de Oca, “ is one o f the rarest o f the Mexican Humming-Birds. I t is small, very
beautiful, and flies with wonderful rapidity, moving its wings with such velocity that it is almost impossible to see
th em; and it might easily be mistaken for a large bee, from the buzzing sound produced by their incessant motion.
In the vicinity o f Jalapa it is called Mirto de Colo de tisera, or the spear-tailed Myrtle-sucker. I t is very shy, and
differs in its habits and manners from all other species. I t is on the wing very early in the morning; and I have
never seen any o f the few specimens that have come under my observation between the hours o f seven or eight
o ’clock a .m . and five p .m ., when they are again to be met with until dusk. "When it has once been detected feeding
at any particular spot, it is almost sure to be found there at the same hour for several days in succession. I t feeds
on the Masapan and Tobaco flowers, preferring, I think, the latter. I t is also found and breeds at the Barrancas de
Jico (or the Precipices o f Jico), about twenty miles from Jalapa. The nest, which is very small, round, flat at the
bottom, and neither so deep nor so thick at the base as those o f most Humming-Birds, is covered on the outside
with moss from stones, and lined with tule, or cat-tail silky floss.”
175. D o r i c h a E v e l y n a s .
Thaumastura E v e ly n s e ................................................................................................................................Vol. III. PI. 156.
Habitat. Bahama Islands.
1 7 6 . D o r ic h a e n i c u r a .
Thaumastura e n i c u r a ................................................................................................................................Vol. III. PI. 157.
Habitat. Guatemala.
“ On no occasion,” says Mr. Salvin, “ were the males o f this species observed about Dueñas during the months
o f February and March • indeed it was not until the month o f May that both males and females were seen together,
at which time the Nopal o f the cochineal plantations being in full flower, great numbers o f Humming-Birds,
especially o f this species, were in the habit o f feeding from the blossoms o f that cactus. The females during the
winter months are common enough, and frequent the same places, and feed principally on the same trees as the
Cyanomyia cyanocephala.”—Ibis, vol. i. p. 129.
“ Occasionally, when flying, the elongated tail-feathers are stretched to a considerable angle.”—Ibis, vol. ii. p. 40.
Speaking o f three nests o f this species Mr. Salvin sa y s:— “ One o f these was in a coffee-tree, and had two eggs.
The other was most curiously placed in the cup-shaped top o f a fruit o f the Nopal (Cactus cochinellifer), the
fastenings being dexterously wound round the clustering prickles, and thus retaining the whole structure most
firmly in its place. This nest was remarkably shallow; so much so that, if it had not contained its two eggs, I
should have pronounced it far from complete. It may be that, being based on a firm foundation (one not nearly
so liable to oscillation by the wind), the bird had found that a greater depth was not necessary to keep the eggs
from falling out. Had she placed her nest on a slender twig, as seems to be usual, the case might have been
different. The third nest had young. It was placed in the upper shoots o f a Dahlia at the further end of the
courtyard. The hen seemed to have the entire duty o f rearing the young; for I never once saw the male near
the place; in fact, I never saw a male inside the courtyard. When sitting she would sometimes allow me to go
close to her, and even hold the branch still when it was swaying to and fro by the wind, without evincing the
slightest alarm. But it was only when a hot sun was shining that she would allow me to do th is ; when it was
dull or raining, four or five yards was the nearest I could approach. Frequently when I had disturbed her, I would
sit down close at hand and wait for her return, and I always noticed that, after flying past once or twice overhead,
she would bring a small piece o f lichen, which, after she had settled herself comfortably in her nest, she would attach
to the outside. All this was done with such a confident and fearless air, that she seemed to intimate, ‘ I left my
nest purely to seek for this piece o f lichen, and not because I was afraid of you.’ When sitting upon her nest, the
whole cavity was quite filled by her puffed-out feathers, the wings, with the exception of their tips, being entirely
concealed by the feathers o f the back. When the young were first hatched, they looked little, black, shapeless
things, with long necks and hardly any beak. They soon, however, grew, and entirely filled the nest. I never
saw the old bird sitting after the young had emerged from the e g g s : she seemed to leave them alike in sun and
rain. When feeding them she would stand upon the edge o f the nest with her body very upright. The first of
these young ones flew on October 15. It was standing on the side o f the nest as I happened to approach, when it
immediately flew off, but fell among the flowers below. I placed it in the nest, but a moment after it was off again,
nothing daunted by its first failure—this second time with better success, for it flew over a wall close by and settled
on a tree on the other side. In the evening I saw the old one feeding it, and went up to the tr e e ; but it started
off with increased vigour to an orange-tree, and tried at first to rest on one of the fruit, but failing, found a more
appropriate perch on the edge o f a leaf. I never saw it afterwards. The other young one flew two days later.
“ The seeds o f the willow and bulrush are favourite materials for the interior structure o f the nest, while lichen
is freely used outside.”—Ibis, vol. ii. p. 264.
Genus T r y p h ^ n a , Gould.
(Tpv<f)aiva, nom. prop.)
Generic characters.
M a le—Bill as long as the head, and straight; wings very small; primaries narrow; tail deeply forked, the outer
feather narrow, tapering at the tip and incurved; fe et small, claws short and hooked; gorget richly coloured but
not luminous; tail ornamented.
Female.—Unadorned; tail extremely short.
The single species o f this genus stands quite alone in the great family o f Humming-Birds. The peculiar and
beautiful markings o f its tail are most remarkable; the colouring o f the throat-mark is equally distinct. It must
be remembered that these features are confined to the male, the female being very plainly attired, and having a
very diminutive tail. Guatemala may well be proud o f this singular bird, rich as her fauna really is.
177. T r y p h íEn a D u p o n t i , .......................................................................................................'Íjj|| ^ 158-
Trochilus Duponti, Jard. Nat. Lib. Humming-Birds, vol. i. p. 131, pi. 26.
Cynanthus Duponti, Id. ib. vol. ii. p. 145.
Trochilus lepidus, Licht. in Mus. Berol.
Tilmatura lepida, Reichenb. Aufz. der Col. p. 8 ; Id. Troch. Enum. p. 5, pi. 711. figs. 4610, 4611.
Thaumastura duponti, Bonap. in Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1854, p. 257.
------------------ Duponti, Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii. p. 55, note.
Habitat. Guatemala.
“ Following the course o f the river o f San Gerónimo up its bed to about half a league from the village, you
come upon a small patch o f forest with here and there open spots covered with Salvia. Here it was that this bird
was shot, by a boy, who told me there were plenty j however, on visiting the place soon after, I was not successful
in obtaining more specimens, nor was I fortunate enough to .see one.” Salvin in Ibis, vol. ii. p. 266.