TROCHILID^ — THE HUMMING-BIRDS. 465 



Atthis heloisa, Less. & Del. 



HELOISA'S HUMMING-BIRD. 



Ornysmya heloisa, Lesson & Delattre, Eev. ZooL 1838, 15 (Xalapa). Mellisuga heloisa, 

 Gray & Mitchell, Gen. Birds, I, 113. Trijphoena Iieloisa, Bonap. Consp. Troch. 

 Rev. Mag. ZooL 1854, 257. Selasphorus heloisce, Gould, Mon. TrochiL III, pL cxli. 

 Atthis heloisce, Reich. Cab. Jour, extraheft, 1853, App. 12. — Gould, Introd. TrochiL 

 1861, 89. — Elliot, lUust. Birds N. Am. I, xxi, xii, plate. — Cooper, Orn. CaL I, 

 1870, 361. 



Sp. Char. Male. Above metallic green with golden reflections; beneath vsrhite;the sides 

 of breast glossed with green ; the flanks with rufous, which tinges the crissum very faintly • 

 gorget brilliant violet or light purplish-red, bordered behind by clear white. All the tail- 

 feathers rufous-cinnamon for basal half ; the three outer black centrally and tipped with 

 white (mixed with reddish on the third) ; the fourth green, centrally tipped with black ; 

 the central entirely green for the exposed portion, perhaps glossed with blackish at the 

 end. Length, 2.70 ; wing, 1.35 ; tail, I.OO ; exposed part of bill above, .45. Female. 

 Outer primary not attenuated. Colors similar to male, wanting the metallic gorget; the 

 feathers spotted with dusky ; crissum and flanks more rufous ; innermost tail-feathers 

 entirely green ; other feathers as in male, but with the central black encroaching on the 

 basal rufous ; third and fourth feathers tipped with reddish-white. 



Hab. Southern New Mexico and Texas, to Guatemala. 



The introduction of this species into the fauna of the United States is 

 based on a female specimen collected by Mr. J. H. Clark at El Paso, Texas, 

 and for a time supposed to be Sclas2)horus riifus, but after a careful examina- 

 tion by Mr. Lawrence, pronounced to belong to this species. Its range is 

 southward along the highlands to Guatemala. 



The species is very much like Selasphorus in shape, and hardly differs 

 more than S. rufus and platycercus do from each other. The male is easily 

 distinguished from its allies ; the females are closely related to those of 

 riifus, differing in much shorter bill (.55 to .65), much less rufous on the 

 more nearly even tail, with broader feathers, etc. 



Habits. This species claims a place within the fauna of North America, 

 probably only as an accidental visitor, on the ground of a single specimen, — 

 a female, taken by Mr. J. H. Clark at El Paso, Texas. It was at first mis- 

 taken for Selasphorus rufus. It is a Mexican and Central American species, 

 raufrino; throughout the hiiihlands at least as far to the south as Guatemala, 

 where it was taken by Mr. Salvin. 



It was first discovered on the highlands of Mexico by Mr. Delattre, who 

 procured his specimens between Jalapa and Quatepu. It is crepuscular in 

 its habits, collecting its food only in the morning or in the evening. Mr. 

 Delattre states that the male bird is known to rise very early in the morn- 

 ing, and is never seen in quest of food later than nine in the forenoon. It 

 very seldom goes to any distance from its mate or young, seeming to prefer 

 to frequent the flowers in the edge of forests, but does not disdain those of 

 the open fields. Mr. Salvin received specimens of this species taken in a 



VOL. n. 59 



