Collection of Birds from Cohimbia. 203 



San Jose (5000 ft.), 14tli March; Atauques (4000 ft.), 

 26th February. '' Eyes brown/^ 



Of this beautiful species Mr. Simons has sent several spe- 

 cimens, all but one of them shot, unfortunately, a little before 

 their plumage had become complete, the wing-feathers being- 

 still not fully groAvn. He has since sent us the following 

 note concerning it : — 



" During an eight months' sojourn in the Sierra Nevada de 

 Santa Marta I had frequent opportunities of observing this 

 interesting and brilliant Humming-bird, which I believe is 

 migratory, spending the months of February, March, April, 

 and May in the banana plantations of the Lower Nevada, 

 from 4000 to 6000 feet above the sea-level. From June to 

 October I found it in the more elevated regions up to nearly 

 the snow-line, or 15,000 feet above the sea-level. While ex- 

 ploring a mountain-gorge near Atanques (4000 ft.) I obtained 

 my first specimen, in March. It was resting on a bent twig 

 in the shade of a banana-leaf, and appeared very tame, allow- 

 me to retire some distance before fii-ing. The species was 

 unknown to most of the inhabitants of Atanques, and excited 

 much admiration from its beauty. A few days afterwards I 

 had the pleasure of meeting with it again among the banana- 

 groves of San Jose. These plantations of the Indians are 

 very extensive along the banks of the Guatapuri, at an eleva- 

 tion of 6000 feet, and are the highest banana-cultivation in 

 the Nevada. This Humming-bird is pretty common here, 

 but solitaiy ; and I seldom saw more than three or, at the 

 most, four in an afternoon. It betrays its presence, not only 

 by the well-known bur-rr of the wings, but also by a sharp 

 double note uttered as it flits from flower to flower. Alight- 

 ing suddenly on a branch in the shade, it will remain minute 

 after minute without the slightest movement. On these 

 occasions I used to watch them carefully, but never could 

 see them fly away, they disappeared as they came, like 

 phantoms. 



'' Visiting San Sebastian in June, I was surprised to find the 

 same little beauty, identical in plumage, but with totally 

 diflerent habits. Instead of shunning the sun, as among the 



