AMAZILIA CASTANEIYENTRI S, Gould.
Chestnut-bellied Amazili.
Amazilius castaneiventris, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., p a rt x x iv . p. 150.
T his unique bird has been in my collection for a long time; it was sent to me, with a number of other
Humming-Birds, by Mr. Mark, Her Britannic Majesty’s Consul at Bogota, without any information as to
where it was collected. It has so many distinctive characters that it canuot be confounded with any
other species. As I have nothing to add to the brief remark respecting it published in the ‘ Proceedings of
the Zoological Society of London,’ I cannot do better than repeat them here.
“ This species differs from A . cervinwentris in the much greater depth of the chestnut colouring of the
abdomen, under tail-coverts and ta il; in size it is considerably less than that species, being even smaller
than A. beryllina, to which it offers an alliance in the colouring of its wings, but from which it is distinguished
by the chestnut red of its abdomen ; the white feathers of the thighs are much developed and very
conspicuous.
“ Crown of the head, upper part of the back, and shoulders reddish bronze; rump and upper tail-coverts
reddish with a bronzy lustre ; wings purplish brown, with the exception of the basal portions of the primaries
and secondaries, which are rufous; tail dark chestnut, tipped with a bronzy lustre, which is most conspicuous
on the centre feathers ; throat, fore part of the neck, breast, and upper part of the abdomen
shining golden green ; under surface of the shoulders, lower part of the abdomen, and under tail-coverts
fine chestnut re d ; thighs white; upper maudible brownish black; under mandible fleshy yellow, except
at the tip, which is brownish black.”
The figures are of the size of life. The plant is the Pitcairnia ec/iinata. •