EUTOXERES CONDAMINI.
Condamine’s Sickle-Bill.
T ro ch ilits C o n d am in i, Bou rc. Compt. Rend , d e 1'Acad. des Sci, de Paris, tom. x x x ii. p. 186.—
lb . R ev . Z o o l. 1 8 5 1 , p. 9 6 .
F or the discovery o f a second species o f Sickle-Bill, the merit is due to M. Bourcier, who procured a single
specimen during his late journey in the Republic o f Ecuador $ and who has, in the kindest manner, sent
this unique specimen from Paris to London, to enable me to give a figure of it in the present work: the
notes accompanying it inform me that it inhabits the woods in the environs o f Archidona; that its flight is
not very rapid; that it obtains its food from the flowers o f the Orchidaceas; that, according to the Indians,
it is a very rare bird; and that the altitude o f its habitat is about 10,000 feet. M. Bourcier has named it
after M. de la Condamine, one o f the three Academicians sent on a scientific expedition to Ecuador by
the French Government in 1742.
Crown o f the head dark brown; wing-coverts and back deep bronze; above and below the eye a streak
o f buff; at the back- o f the neck, a crescent o f dark glossy green; wings purplish brown; upper tail-coverts
bronzy green edged with deep buff; two centre tail-feathers dark bronzy green, slightly tipped with white;
the next tail-feather on each side brownish black, tipped with white; the three outer feathers on each side
deep buff, shading into white at the t ip ; cheeks and under surface striated with buff and brownish black,
the buff predominating on the centre o f the abdomen; upper mandible blackish brown; basal half o f the
under mandible yellow, apical half blackish brown; feet yellow, with dark brown scutellas.
The figures are of the size o f life.