2 2 1 . M e t a l l u r a s m a r a g d i n i c o l l i s . . . Vol. III. PI. 1 9 6 .
Urolampra smaragdinicollis, Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii. p. 68, note.
Habitat. Peru and Bolivia.
Varied as have been the subjects hitherto referred to in the present volume, and beautiful as is the colouring of
many o f the species, the next genus is composed o f birds which cannot boast o f any brilliancy o f colouring; on the
contrary, they are clothed in very sombre attire, and have nothing to recommend them to our notice but chaste and
delicate hues; still in my opinion they are not the less interesting.
Genus A d e l o m y ia , Bonap.
2 2 2 . A d e l o m y ia i n o r n a t a ..............................................................................................................................Vol. III. PI. 1 9 7 .
Adelisca inornata, Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii. p. 7 2 , note.
Habitat. Bolivia.
2 2 3 . A d e l o m y ia m e l a n o g e n y s ....................................................................................................................Vol. III. PI. 1 9 8 .
Adelisca melanogenys, Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii. p. 7 2 .
Habitat. New Granada.
Precisely the same kind o f difference occurs between examples o f this form from Venezuela and Ecuador that
has been described as occurring with regard to the Metallura tyrianthina and M. Quitensis. The species o f
Adelomyia inhabiting Ecuador and Peru is very considerably larger than the A. melanogenys from Venezuela; it has
more buff at the base o f the tail-feathers, and a much more conspicuously spotted throat and breast; for this
Ecuadorian bird I therefore propose the name o f maculata:—
224 A d e l o m y ia m a c u l a t a , G o u l d ................................................................................................................... Vol. III. PI. 199.
Habitat. Ecuador.
Avocettula and Avocettinus are the generic terms applied to the two species rendered remarkable by the points
o f the mandibles being curved upwards in the shape o f a h o o k : this extraordinary deviation from the usual
structure is doubtless designed for some especial purpose; but what that may be, is at present unknown to us.
In placing these two species near to each other, I do not mean to convey an idea th a t they are very nearly
allied. One is an inhabitant o f the Andes, the other o f Guiana and the neighbouring countries. Nothing whatever
is known respecting these singular birds.
Genus A v o c e t t in u s , Bonap.
225. A v o c e t t in u s e u r y p t e r u s ................................................................................................................................................. ................ j j j p j 2 o o
Opisthoprora euryptera, Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii. p. 76, note.
Habitat. The high lands o f New Granada.
Genus A v o c e t t u l a , Reichenb.
226. A v o c e t t u l a r e c u r v ir o s t r i s ............................................................................................................. j j j p j 2 o i
Trochilus avocetta, Jard. Nat. l ib . Humming Birds, vol. i. p. 78, pi. 2.
recurvirostris, Jard. Nat. Lib. Humming Birds, vol. ii. p. 80.
Hylocharis avocetta, Gray & Mitch. Gen. o f Birds, vol. i. p. 114, Hylocharis, sp. 12.
Streblorhamphus recurvirostris, Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii. p. 76.
Habitat. The Guianas.
Genus A n t h o c e p h a l a , Cab.
This generic term has been proposed by Dr. Cabanis for the bird I hare figured under the name o f Adelomyia
floriceps, which is at present the only species o f the form known ; for, although I have ventured to place with it
my Adelomyia ? castaneiamtris, I am unable to say, from the imperfect materials at my command, whether It reaUy
belongs to the present or to some other genus.
227. A n t h o c e p h a l a f l o r ic e p s .
Adelomyia floriceps, G o u l d Vol. III. PI. 202.
Anthocephala floriceps, Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii. p. 72, note.
Habitat. Columbia.
228. A n t h o c e p h a l a ? c a s t a n e iv e n t r i s .
Adelomyia ? castaneiventris, G o u l d ........................................................................................................Vol. III. PI. 203.
Habitat. Chiriqui.
The fourth volume commences with a species which plays no inconsiderable part as an article of trade; for it
is the one, par excellence, o f which thousands are annually sent to Europe for the purpose o f contributing to the
decorations o f the drawing-rooms o f the wealthy, for the manufacture o f artificial flowers, & c .; and well suited is
it for such purposes, its rich ruby and topaz-like colouring rendering it one o f the most conspicuous and beautiful
objects imaginable. The Chrysolampis moschitus (better known by its trivial name o f Ruby and Topaz Humming-
Bird) enjoys a very wide range, being found all over the eastern parts o f Brazil, Cayenne, Guiana, Venezuela, the
high lands o f Bogota, and Trinidad.
The females o f this form differ very widely from the males in the colouring o f their plumage; and the young
males undergo so many changes between youth and maturity, that they must have puzzled the most astute of
ornithological investigators.
Genus C h r y s o l a m p i s , B o ie .
229. C h r y s o l a m p i s m o s c h i t u s ....................................................................................................................Vol. IV. PI. 204.
Chrysolampis moschita, Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii. p. 21.
Chrysolampis Reichenbachi, Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii. p. 21.
Habitat. Guiana, Cayenne, Brazil, Venezuela, the Andes o f New Granada, and the islands o f Trinidad and
Tobago.
Dr. Cabanis is o f opinion that the bird from New Granada is distinct from that obtained in the other localities;
but I must receive more decided evidence that such is the case than I at present possess, before I can admit that
there is any difference between the Andean and Brazilian examples; for the present, therefore, I place his name of
C. Reichenbachi as a synonym o f C. moschitus, which I believe to be the only species yet known o f the genus.
“ This pretty little species ” [says Mr. Kirk] “ arrives in Tobago at the end o f January or about the 1st of
February. I t begins to build about the 10th, lays two pure-white eggs, and sits fourteen days. I t feeds on ants
as well as flowers. I detected 115 small insects in the stomach o f one I dissected. One o f these birds having
attached its nest to the trunk o f a logwood tree close to a window o f my residence, I had an opportunity of
observing its manners during incubation, and I can assert that, although I confined the young by means o f some
coarse wire cloth, through which the parent could feed them, for upwards o f three weeks after they were ready to
leave the nest, and although she evinced the greatest distress by her chirping note when flying around me, often
within three feet, I never but twice, from the laying until the period I mention, saw a male near the nest; and
whether they pair seems to be disputed, as on both these occasions he was hotly pursued by the female to a
considerable distance with all the bickering violence so peculiar to the tribe.”—Horee Zoologicee, by Sir. W. Jardine,
Bart., in Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. xx. p. 373.
In proceeding next to the genus Orthorhynchus, composed o f birds ornamented with glittering green and blue
crests, I do not insist that they have any direct affinity with the last, nor are they intimately allied to the members
o f the succeeding o n e : a more isolated form, in fact, is not to be found among the Trochilidse. Only two species
have been recorded by previous writers; but specimens o f a third are contained both in the Loddigesian and my
own collections: I allude to the bird here described under the name o f Orthorhynchus omatus.
All the members o f the
Genus O r t h o r h y n c h u s , Cuo.,
are confined to the W est India Island s; but our present knowledge o f them does not admit o f my stating positively
the extent o f the range o f each sp ecies; this is a point which requires further investigation. The females differ
from the males in being destitute o f the glittering crown.
230. O r t h o r h y n c h u s c r i s t a t u s ...............................................................................................................................................^ o1, 2 0 5 ,
Orthorhynchus cristatus, Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii. p. 61.
Habitat. Barbadoes, and St. Vincent.