yet another character cómmon, I believe, to the whole—that o f the tail o f .the females being mnch larger and more
lengthened than that o f the males ; the yonng males, too, have this organ much more prolonged than the adult
males ; they have all peculiarly sharp wedge-shaped bills, lengthened wings, and smaU feet. Judging from these
points in their structure, I believe these birds to be endowed with the power o f more rapid flight than any other
members o f the family.
238. H e l io t h r ix a u r i t a ...............................................................................................................................
Trochilus leucocrclaphus, Vieill. Nonv. Diet. d’Hist. Nat. tom. vii. p. 374 ; Id. Ency. Méth. Om. part. 2nde, p. 571.
Heliothrix aurita, Reichenb. Aufz. der Col. p. 13 ; Id. Troch. Ennm. p. 11 ; Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii, p. 28.
Habitat. Northern Brazil, the banks of the Amazon, the Guianas, and Venezuela.
239. H Vnl TV PI 214 e l io t h r ix a u r ic u l a t a .................................................................................................... u
Heliothrix auriculata, Reichenb. Aufz. der Col. p. 13; Id .Troch .En um.p.ll; Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii. p. 28.
------------ aurita, jun., Burm. Th. Bras. tom. ii. p. 336.
Habitat. South-eastern Brazil.
240. H e l io t h r ix p h a in o l æ m a , Gould...................................................... Vol. IV. PI. 215.
Heliothrix phaenoleuca, Hartl. W ieg. Arch. xxii. 2. p. 23.
----------- phaenolaema, Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii. p. 28, note.
Habitat. The banks o f the Upper Rio Negro.
241. H e l io t h r ix B a r r o t i .
Heliothrix purpureiceps, G o u l d .................................................................................................................... Vol. IV. PI. 216.
Heliothrix purpureiceps, Gould in Proc. Zool. Soc., part xxiii. p. 87.
------------ Barroti, Salvin in Ibis, vol. iii. p. 410.
------------ Barroti, Reichenb. Aufz. der Col. p. 13 ; Id. Troch. Enum. p. 11 ; Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii.
p. 28, npte.
Omismya Gabriel, Delatt. Echo du Monde Savant, N o . 45, Juin 15, 1843, col. 1070.
Habitat. Guatemala, Costa Rica, and the forests o f New Granada bordering the Pacific coast, as far south as
Ecuador ; Esmeraldas (Fraser).
242. H e l io t h r ix v io l i f r o n s , Gould.
Heliothrix Barroti....................................................................................................................................................Vol. IV. PI. 217.
Habitat. Carthagena, or Veragua.
On receiving this bird from M. Warszewicz, I considered it to be referable to the Heliothrix Barroti, and
accordingly figured and described it under that name. Subsequently I received another bird with a differently
coloured crown, which, believing it to be new, I described and figured as H. purpureiceps, but I now find that the
latter is the true H. Barroti, and that the former is a new bird ; I therefore propose for it the distinctive appellation
o f H. violifrons.
Between the genera Heliothrix and Petasophora appears to be the proper situation for my genus Schistes ; for to
the former it is nearly allied in its wedge-shaped bill, and to the latter in the colouring o f the tail. The three
species known are all inhabitants o f the Andes o f N ew Granada and Ecuador. I have often thought that the white
guiar mark in Schistes albigularis is characteristic o f immaturity ; but this is by no means certain.
Genus S c h i s t e s , Gould.
(Sx/f®, findo.)
Generic characters.
Male.—Bill longer than the head, straight, wedge-shaped at the tip ; wings moderately long and slightly
rounded ; tail rounded, the feathers broad ; tarsi partially clothed ; fe e t small ; hind toe and nail shorter than the
middle toe and nail.
243. S c h i s t e s G e o f f r o y i Vol. IV. PI. 2 1 8 .
Schistes Geoffroyi, Reichenb. Aufz. der Col. p. 13.
Petasophora Geoffroyi, Reichenb. Troch. Enum. p. 11.
Schistes Geoffroyi, Cab. e t Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil p. 27
Habitat. The Andes o f New Granada.
244. S cH IST E S PERSON ATA, G o u l d ...................................................................................................................Vol. IV. PI. 219.
Schistes geoffroyii, Sclater in Proc. Zool. Soc., part xxviii. p. 70.
Habitat. Ecuador.
245. S c h i s t e s a l b ig u l a r i s , G o u l d .................................................................................................................. Vol. IV. PI. 220.
Schistes albigularis, Reichenb. Aufz. der Col. p. 13.
Petasophora albigularis, Id. Troch. Enum. p. 11.
Schistes albigularis, Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii. p. 27, note.
Habitat. The western side o f Pichincha, in Ecuador, at an elevation o f 6000 feet.
Mr. Fraser, who procured this bird at Pallatanga, says, “ Bill b lack; feet dark flesh-colour; gizzard contained
in se c ts; found in the underwood.”
The members o f the next genus, Augastes, have perhaps no direct alliance with the preceding; but as they
are characterized by masked faces, and have buffy marks on the sides o f the chest, they are as well placed here as
elsewhere.
Both the A. scutatus and A. Lumachellus are very beautiful species, and have had the trivial name o f Vizor-
bearers applied to them, from the very peculiar manner in which their entire faces are covered with shining
metallic feathers, giving the birds the appearance o f being masked; the under-surface o f their tails is also luminous,
in which respect they present a similarity to the Metalluree.
Genus A u g a s t e s , Gould.
(Avyáfa, illucesco, de abyi¡, splendor.)
Generic characters.
Male.—B ill straight, longer than the head, and inclining to awedge-shape at the t ip ; head round, the feathers
not advancing upon the b ill; wings rather lo n g ; tail moderately long and square, the feathers broad; tarsi clothed;
fe e t small; hind toe very diminutive; fa c e and tail luminous.
Female.—Destitute o f luminous colouring.
246. A u g a s t e s s c u t a t u s . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vol. IV. PI. 221.
Trochilus venustas, Licht. in Mus. o f Berlin.
Augastes superbus, Reichenb. Aufz. der Col. p. 13; Troch. Enum. p. 11; Bonap. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1854, p. 253.
Habitat. Brazil.
247. A u g a s t e s L u m a c h e l l u s . . . . . . . . . . . . Vol. IV. PI. 22 2 .
Lamprurus Lumachellus, Reichenb. Aufz. der Col. p. 12.
Ramphomicron Lumachellus, Id. Troch. Enum. p. 10.
Augastes lumachellus, Bonap. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1854, p. 253; Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii. p. 46.
Habitat. Central and Northern. Brazil.
One o f those genera which give but little trouble to the ornithologist is the
Genus P e t a so p h o r a , G. R . Gray,
all the species having characters in common, while each has its own peculiar distinction either in colour or
markings. The sexes are alike in colour, but the females are always much smaller than the males. This is strictly
an Andean group, most o f the species being found in those elevated regions from Mexico in the north to Bolivia in
the so u th ; one species, the P . serrirostris, inhabits Brazil.
248. P e t a s o p h o r a s e r r ir o s t r i s Vol. IV. PI. 223.
Trochilus (Lophornis) petasophorus, Tschudi, Consp. p. 37, No. 205.
------------ chalcotis, Licht. in Mus. o f Berlin.
Petasophora chalcotis, Reichenb. Aufz. der Col. p. 13; Id. Troch. Enum. p. II .
------------ serrirostris, Id. ib. p. 13.
------------ crispa, Burm. Th. Bras. tom. ii. p. 335.
■------------serrirostris. Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii. p. 25.
Petasophora Gouldi, Bonap. (proposed for a smaller bird inhabiting Bahia).
Habitat. Brazil, from Minas Geraes to Bahia.