( .M5 ) 



from all its allies in ln'iiig bcneatii white, not vusty nit'ous (the term chestnut used 

 by Mr. fSalvin is misleading). In view of the peculiar form of the tail, which is 

 already clearly developed in very young inales, and the quite singular coloration of 

 i)iie female, C. berlepschi must stand as a species, to which there are evidently no 

 approaches in the nearest allied forms. 



I have again named this fine bird in honoui- of Count von Berlepsch, in 

 thankfulness for his having introduced me into the study of the Trochilidae, 

 and for his constant willingness to lend material for study from his fine collection 

 of Humming-Birds, and to give advice in difficult questions, from his unrivalled 

 store of knowledge of the prettiest and in many respects most fascinating family 

 of birds. 



r. coelestis may, I believe, also be kept specifically distinct, the somewhat 

 longer bill, brownish underside, and the coloration of l\x(t female, which has the 

 breast white and only the abdomen rnsty rufous, while in C. kinqi and its allies 

 the abdomen and breast are rusty rufous and the throat only white, witli green iliscs, 

 being good characters for its distinction. 



V. iiiocou, which inhabits the eastern slopes of the Andes in .Souih Colombia an<l 

 Ecuador, differs merely from ('. rmmae, which is evidently an inliabitant of the 

 northern slopes ascending from the Magdalena Valley to the eastern ranges of the 

 Andes, in having the tail of a darker, less shining green, the bill generally, but not 

 always, about 1 mm. longer, the throat with a large blue spot. This siioi is 

 mostly absent in ('. emmue, but I have already seen four specimens of the latter 

 whieli have a more or less extended blue spot on the throat. The femulrx are 

 probably alike, as different forms have never been noticed in Bogota collections, and 

 \)i\ii females of r. kingi kingi and of C. mocoa do not differ from each other in awy 

 appreciable characters. 



('. emiiuie is no doubt more distinct from ('. kiiKji Itimji tlian ' '. mocon from 

 C. emmue, the longer bill, the green tail, and the absence of the blue spot being 

 excellent characters to distinguish it. I must also admit that I have not seen 

 perfectly intermediate forms,-but, on the other hand, the colour of the tail in 

 ('. kingi hivgi varies in a large series and is sometimes less purplish blm- and more 

 of a steely greenish blue gloss, even on the outermost long tail-feathers. We have 

 already seen that the blue spot is sometimes, though rarely, present in C. emmae. 

 The longer bill is not a character of specific, but rather of subspecific value. The 

 females are not known for certain, but it is most probable that they do not differ 

 materially from those of the true hingi. It seems, therefore, ((uite reasonable to 

 regard C. emmue as a subspecies of hivgi. That the two forms, hingi and emmue, 

 rejn-eseiit each other in different parts of Colombia can hardly be doubted. 



< '. cuudata Berlepsch is a most distinct form, inhabiting the Andes of Venezuela, 

 from where Messrs. Briceno tiabaldc'm & Sons have sent fine series for years. In 

 about a hundred adult mules which I have seen in the collections of Messrs. 

 Rothschild, Simon, Boucard, and ( 'ount Berlepsch I have not seen one with even an 

 indication of a blue spot on the throat. The tail also is generally considerably 

 longer, the bill usually shorter. The femula does not differ from that of /.-i/igi, 

 except by a generally shorter bill. As we have seen that the blue throat-spot is 

 not invariable in its absence and presence in allied forms, as the females do not 

 differ materially, and as the shorter bill and longer tail can hardly be considered 

 more than subspecific characters, I do not hesitate to look upon <'. cumluta also as 

 a subspecific form. 



