352 > REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1890. 



or less distinct whitish spots at the tips. lu fact, of the teu specimens 

 at this momeut under examination, as many as six possess this char- 

 acter, more or less pronounced, thus showing that it is by no means 

 exceptional. In three of these it is confined to an indistinct edging to 

 the terminal portion of the inner web of the lateral feather, the second 

 having merely a trace of this whitish edging. In the others, however, 

 the white amounts to a considerable spot at the tip of both webs, and 

 is present on the third as well as the first and second, though much 

 reduced in extent. The color of the gorget varies but little, except in 

 a specimen from Mexico (No. 60073, A. Boucard), in which it is more of 

 a geranium red, caused by the tips of the feathers being ''tarnished" 

 to a more golden hue. 



An adult male from Guatemala (No. 33647, O. Salvin) differs from 

 more northern specimens only in smaller size, its measurement being 

 as follows: Length (skin), 3.45; wing, 1.85; tail, 1.40; exposed cul- 

 men,0.60. 



Adult females, as in Trochilus alexandri and other species, vary 

 chiefly in the markings of the chin and throat, some having the cen- 

 tral guttate spots to the feathers pale grayish brown or olive and very 

 small, while others have these markings much darker in color as well 

 as larger. In none of the specimens examined, however, are there any 

 metallic feathers on the throat, such as are frequently seen in females of 

 8. rufus and 8. alleni. An example from Mexico (No. 13636, J. Gould) 

 differs from United States examples in h'aving the basal portion of the 

 rectrices much duller rufous, this color also much more restricted. The 

 specimen may, however, possibly be a young male. 



The Broad tailed Humming Bird is the most common, or at least most 

 conspicuous, species of the family in the Rocky Mountain district, 

 although it seems to be more particularly characteristic of the eastern 

 portions, gradually diminishing in numbers, or at least in the con- 

 tinuity of the areas which it inhabits, to the westward. I am unable 

 to find any authentic record of its occurrence west of the one hundred 

 and sixty-first meridian,wherein the East Humboldt Mountains, Nevada, 

 I found it fairly common in August, 1808. 



In the Rocky Mountain district proper, as in Colorado, tor example, 

 it breeds at an elevation of from 4,000 to 11,000 feet,* and I found it 

 having about the same vertical range in the East Humboldt Mountains. 

 In the San Francisco Mountains, Arizona, according to Dr. Mearns,t 

 it is an abundant summer resident of the spfuce belt. At Fort Garland, 

 Colorado, Mr. Henshaw found it most numerous along the mountain 

 streams, at an altitude of about 7,000 feet. It breeds abundantly in 

 the mountains of northern New Mexico, but in those of southern Ari- 

 zona it is said to be comparatively rare during the breeding season. 

 On the Upper Pecos River, New Mexico, Mr. Henshaw found the Broad- 



* Drew, The Auk, vol. m, p. 17. 

 t The Auk, vol. vii, p. 255. 



