BIRDS — TROCH ILIDAE — SELASPITORUS PLATYCERCUS. 



135 



shade on the covered edges of the feathers on the lower part of the back and rump. The sides 

 of the body along the wings and the under tail coverts are pale cinnamon ; the throat with 

 occasional spots of green and metallic red ; the rest of the under surface dull white tinged with 

 brown across the breast. The tail feathers are cinnamon at the base, then violaceous black ; all 

 are tipped with white, except the middle one, on either side, which is golden green to near the 

 black tip. There is also an indication of green between the black and cinnamon of the other 

 feathers. 



Inboth male and female there is a concealed tuft of white feathers near the insertion of the leg. 



This species is entirely dissimilar from any other North American humming bird, and is 

 perhaps the only one without indication of metallic green on the belly. The rufous feathers of 

 both sexes readily distinguish it from any other North American species. There is, however, 

 a closely allied South Mexican species, Selasphorus scintilla of Gould, from Veragua, (Proceed- 

 ings Zool. Soc. 1850, 162,) which is very similar, differing chiefly in the smaller size. 



I cannot discover in the Trochilus ruber of Linnaeus the exclusive characters of the present 



species. 



List of specimens. 



SELASPHOEUS PLATYCEECUS, Gould. 



Broad-tailed Hnmraing Bird. 



Trochilus platycercus, Sw. Philos. Mag. I, 1827, 441, (Mexico.) 



Selasphorus platycercus, GonLD, Mon. Trochilid. or Humming Birds, iii, May, 1852. 



Ornismia tricolor. Lesson, Colibrie, 125, (no date) ; pi. xiv, (Brazd.)— 1b. Trochilidees, 1831, 156 ; pi. Ix, (Mexico.) 



Jardine, Nat. Lib. II, 77; pi. xiii. 

 Ornismya Montana, Lesson, Trochilid. 1831, IGl ; pi. Ixiii, adult, and 163 ; pi. Ixiv, young, (Mexico.) 



Sp. Ch. — Outer primaries greatly attenuated at the end. Outer tail feathers nearly linear, but widening a little from the 

 base ; its width .20 of an inch. Tail slightly graduated and emarginate. Male above and on the sides metallic green ; chin and 

 throat light reddish purple, behind which, and along the belly to the tail, is a good deal of white. Wings and tail dusky 

 purplish ; the tail feathers, excepting the internal and external ones, edged towards the base with light cinnamon. 



Length, 3.50 ; wing, 1.92 ; tail, 1.40. Bill, gape, .80. 



Hab. — Mexico, as far north as EI Paso, Texas, hitherto the only known locality in the United States. 



