Mr. D. G. Elliot on the Trochilida;. 45 



ning from the chin to the breast ; and in some specimens 

 the green feathers encroach upon the throaty only permitting 

 the white to appear in spots. This last style Mr. Gould has 

 described as distinct in his monograph of the Trochilidse 

 under the name of affinis. He says that Mr. Reeves^ of Rio 

 Janeiro, called his attention to the bird, and stated that it 

 had a diflPerent note from T. brevirostris, and placed its nest 

 in a different situation, although what that was he did not 

 inform us. Judging from the skins, of which I have a 

 series before me from the vicinity of Rio Janeiro, as well as 

 the province of Minas Geraes, I can perceive no diiFerence 

 whatever that in my opinion should constitute them distinct 

 species. The extent of white on the throat varies considerably 

 among the specimens ; and in some from the vicinity of Rio 

 the throat is quite as fully covered with green feathers as are 

 those of specimens from Minas Geraes, while all before me 

 from that province exhibit some white upon the throat, and 

 do not have this part entirely uniform green, as represented 

 in the figures of Mr. GouWs plate, which therefore is, I 

 think, rather apt to mislead in this respect. In his compa- 

 rison of T. brevirostris and T. affinis, Mr. Gould says that the 

 latter is " altogether more delicately formed than the T. brevi- 

 rostris ; has an almost uniform pale green tail, and a breast 

 without the slightest appearance of white in the centre/' In 

 size the birds from the two localities appear to me to be ex- 

 actly alike ; and I cannot perceive any appreciable difference in 

 the colour of the tails. I have never seen an example with 

 an entirely uniform green throat, all the specimens observed by 

 me, from every locality, having some trace of white amongst 

 the green. I may add that among my examples are some 

 from Minas Geraes, named T. affinis, and others from the 

 vicinity of Rio, marked T. brevirostris, obtained from Mr. 

 Gould, between which no difference whatever exists in. colo- 

 ration. I have no hesitation in placing T. affinis among the 

 synonyms of T. brevirostris. 



8. Thaumatias compsa. 



Agyrtria mellisuga, Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. iii. p. 34. 

 sp. 71. 



