Mr. D. G. Elliot on the Trocliilidse. 403 



generally throughout Central America, Trinidad, tlie Gui- 

 anas, and along the northern and western countries as far 

 south as Peru. The habitat of P. coruscans is not known. 



Petasophora anais. 



Ramphodon anais, Less. Hist. Nat. des Troch. p. 146, pi. 55. 



Petasophora anais, Gould, Mon. Troch. vol. iv. pi. 224 ; 

 id. Intr. Troch. (8vo ed.) p. 124. sp. 249. 



Petasophora iolata, Gould, P. Z. S. 1847, p. 9. sp. 5; id. 

 Mon. Troch. vol. iv. p. 225 ; id. Intr. Troch. (8vo ed.) p. 124. 

 sp. 250. 



Hab. Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia. 



Lesson described this bird in his ' Histoire Naturelle des 

 Trochilidse,' and erroneously gave its habitat as Mexico. 

 He also confounded with it one or two other species of the 

 same genus, supposing them to be immature examples of P. 

 anais. The specimens before me are from Columbia, Ecuador, 

 and Peru. Mr. Gould states that the form he has called 

 iolata has its true habitat in Bolivia, extending to Chili ; but 

 I do not by any means find that this race is restricted to any 

 particular country west of the Andes. I have placed without 

 hesitation the name P. iolata among the synonyms of the pre- 

 sent species, as I do not see that it has any claims whatever to a 

 specific rank apart from P. anais. That there are specimens 

 of P. anais larger than others every one who has examined 

 these birds will readily admit ; but they come from no especial 

 district, and therefore have not even the claim of being deemed 

 to belong to a geographical race. For instance, there are before 

 me specimens from Bogota representing the typical P. anais, 

 and also others from Antioquia, brought by Salmon, which are 

 as large as any so-called P. iolata from Pei-u or Ecuador. The 

 measurements are : — Bogota example, total length 4f inches, 

 bill on culmen |, wing 2|, tail 2^ ; Antioquia specimen, total 

 length 5 J inches, bill on culmen |, wing 3^, tail 2\. The entire 

 appearance of this latter bird is more robust than the one from 

 Bogota. Both forms are before me from Tinta, Peru, col- 

 lected by Whitely, the wings measuring respectively 2| and 

 3| inches — the latter intennediate, as will be noticed, between 



SER. in. VOL. VI. 2 V 



