188 Mr. D, G. Elliot on a tiew Species of Humminy-bird. 



XV. — Description of a new Species of Humming-bird, from 

 Mr. Gould^s Collection, belonging to the Genus lolsema. By 

 D. G. Elliot, F.R.S.E. &c. 



loLiEMA LUMINOSA, Gould, ]\IS. 



Top of head and nape dull dark green : chin and sides of 

 the throat black : centre of throat most brilliant topaz, 

 changing, according to the light, into a flame-colour or a 

 brilliant emerald-green : back bronzy green, graduating 

 into a rich purplish red upon the upper tail-coverts : breast, 

 flanks, and abdomen brilliant metallic coppery red : wings 

 dark purple : tail has the median rectrices bronze ; lateral 

 ones dark purple, tinged with green upon the outer webs : 

 under tail-coverts reddish bronze, margined with white : 

 bill black; feet brownish black. Total length 4^ inches; 

 wing 2| ; tail 2 ; bill, culmen ff, at gape 1 . 



Hab. Unknown. 



This bird was placed in my hands some three or four years 

 ago by a dealer in Paris, and then seemed to me to repre- 

 sent a very distinct species, specimens of which I had never 

 previously seen. The late Jules Verreaux, to whom I showed 

 it, thought it the same as his Heliotrypha barali ; but the 

 type of the latter, having since come into my possession, 

 proves to be a very dififerent bird, belonging to quite another 

 genus. At the time the present specimen was in my cus- 

 tody the owner was not willing to part with it ; but he sub- 

 sequently sent it to London, and it eventually passed into 

 Mr. Goidd^s hands, who gave it the MS. name luminosa. 

 He has now kindly allowed me to describe it. The specimen 

 had been in the dealer's possession for a very long time, even 

 when I first saw it, when it was amongst a lot of Bogota birds. 

 On my asking if he knew where the specimen came from, he 

 replied that he thought from Ecuador. The skin, however, 

 is of the usual Bogota "make.'' It certainly is one of 

 the very finest members of the genus to which it belongs, 

 and words can but faintly describe the brilliancy of the 

 metallic hues with which its plumage is adorned. 



