Broad- tailed Humming-bird 253 



into a ruff ; female with white-tipped tail ; a certain amount of rufous 

 in the plumage, especially at the base of the tail in both sexes. 



Three well-known species are found in the United States ; for key, 

 see p. 251. 



Broad-tailed Humming-bird. Selasphorus platycercus. 



A.O.U. CheckUst no 432— Colorado Records— Allen 72, pp. 151, 158, 

 163, 180 ; Aiken 72, p. 206 ; Coues & Trippe 74, p. 272 ; Henshaw 

 75, p. 377 ; Coues 78, p. 95 ; Scott 79, p. 95 ; Minot 80, p. 232 ; Tresz 

 81, p. 185 (T. colubris) ; Drew 81, p. 140 ; 85, p. 17 ; Allen & Brewster 

 83, p. 196 ; Morrison 86, p. 153 ; 88, p. 107 ; 89, p. 146 ; Kellogg 90, 

 p. 88 ; Ridgway 90, p. 350; Bendire 92, p. 210 ; Lowe 92, p. 101 ; 

 94, p. 268 ; McGregor 97, p. 38 ; Cooke 97, pp. 86, 208 ; Keyser 02, 

 pp. 103, 230 ; Dille 03, p. 74 ; Henderson 03, p. 235 ; 09, p. 232 ; 

 Oilman 07, p. 154 ; Rockwell 08, p. 165 ; Warren 07, p. 81 ; 08, p. 21 ; 

 09, p. 15 ; Fray 09, p. 70. 



Description. — Male. — Above, including the crown and middle tail- 

 feathers, metallic green ; wings dusky purpUsh, the outer primary 

 narrowed and pointed, the apex turned slightly outwards ; the next 

 also attenuated but less so ; lateral tail-feather dusky purpUsh with 

 sometimes a slight edging of chestnut ; tail graduated, the middle- 

 feathers broad and obtusely pointed ; gorget metallic crimson to pur- 

 plish-red ; below greyish-white with a little golden-green on the sides. 

 Length 3-9 ; wing 2-0 ; tail 1-25 ; culmen '6. 



The female is green above like the male ; the outer primary is narrow, 

 but with no special attenuation ; the lateral tail-feathers are chestnut 

 at the base, then purplish-black with white tips ; there is no gorget, 

 the throat is spotted with dark or greenish specks ; there is no green 

 below, but a wash of rufous, which is not nearly so marked, however, 

 as in S. riifus. 



Distribution. — The Rocky Mountain regions from Idaho and Wyoming 

 south to Arizona and New iloxico, east to the foothills of Colorado, west 

 to the Sierra Nevada ; in winter south over Mexico to Guatemala. 



The Broad-tailed Plumming-bird is the only species commonly met 

 with in Colorado. It arrives early in May ; Aiken notes May 5th, 

 near Fountain, Rockwell the same date for Mesa co. as the earliest. It 

 nests everywhere, from the foothills up to 10,000 or 11,000 feet, and 

 wanders higher, often above timber line, but it is most common between 

 7,000 and 9,000 feet. It departs again in September, the males leaving 

 some Uttle time before the females and young birds. It was seen as 

 late as October loth hy Rockwell in Mesa co. It has not been met 

 with on the eastern plains. Nesting records are : Estes Park (McGregor), 

 Boulder co., foothills to 10,000 feet (Gale), Glen Eyrie, near Colorado 

 Springs, 6,500 feet (W. L. Sclater), Twin Lakes (Scott), Wet Mountains 



