G L . rC I S JM E LAm jRA . Could
J.GotMandH.CJUcftiB' del a ISA.
GLAUCIS MELANURA, Gould.
Black-tailed Hermit.
G la u c is m e la n u ra , Gould in Proc. o f Zool. S o c ., part xxviii. p. 3 0 4 .
T h e bird figured in the accompanying Plate must not be confounded with either of the species 1 have mentioned
in my account o f Glaucis h irsutus; it is much smaller than either o f them, and moreover has a far
greater amount o f black colouring in its tail—the extreme base, and that only of the inner webs of the
feathers, being marked with chestnut; in fact, when the tail is closed and viewed from beneath, it appears to
be entirely black, the under coverts concealing the buff colouring at its base.
I possess two specimens o f this bird, one o f which was received from the Napo, the other, a very fine
one, from the Rio Negro.
Centre o f the throat, chest, and under surface buff; a streak of dark brown passes downwards from the
base o f the lower mandible, between which and the ear-coverts is a stripe o f buff; there is also a line of
buff behind the e y e ; crown o f the head brown; back o f the neck, upper surface, and two middle tail-feathers
golden-green ; upper tail-coverts narrowly edged with grey; basal portion of the inner webs and the shafts
o f the four lateral tail-feathers rich reddish-buff approaching to chestnut, the remainder of these feathers
being black, tipped with white; bill black, except the under base o f the mandible, which is yellow.
The figures in the accompanying Plate are as near the size o f life as possible. The plant is the Sipho-
campylus Orbignianus.