Mr. D. G. Elliot on the Trodiilidie. 317 



Heliotrypha. 



Having lately obtained for my collection the type of Helio- 

 trypha ban'ali, Mulsant & Verrcaux, a species unknown save 

 by the description published in 1868 by those gentlemen, I 

 was led to examine its relations to the other known species 

 of the genus, Avith the results now given. 



The genus Heliotrypha is closely allied to Heliangelus ; 

 indeed at one time the species of both were placed under 

 the latter term, until Mr. Gould, in his monograpli of the 

 family, very properly separated the two species H. viola and 

 H. parzudakii (as given by him, exortis, as it should be called) 

 under the generic name by which they are now known. They 

 differ from the species of Heliangelus conspicuously in not 

 possessing any trace of the white or buff band beneath the 

 metallic feathers of the throat. 



The species have but a limited geographical distribution, 

 being confined to districts of Columbia and Ecuador lying 

 on the west of the Andes. The first of these contains H. bar- 

 rali, from the river Saldana, the only locality iu which it has 

 been found, so far as known at present, and H. exortis, which 

 is plentiful in the vicinity of Bogota, and also extends its 

 range into Ecuador, where it has been obtained near Popayan 

 and near Quito. H. viola has, as yet, only been obtained in 

 Ecuador. The following table will serve to distinguish the 

 species, which compose but one group, easily recognizable 

 by their differently coloured throats : — 



a. Throat metallic purple ; chin with light-blue reflections . . H. viola. 



b. Throat metallic red ; chin deep blue, almost black in some 



lights H. exortis. 



c. Throat pale olive-gTeeu H. barrali. 



Heliotrypha viola. 



Heliangelus viola, Gould, P. Z. S. 1853, p. 61. 



Heliotrypha viola, Gould, Mon. Troch. vol. iv. pi. 241 ; at 

 Intr. Troch. p. 131, sp. 266. 



Hah. Ecuador. 



M. Warszewicz was the discoverer of this beautiful species. 

 The specimens he brought came into the possession of Mr. 



