216 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



According to my observations, tliis Humraer seems to l)e especially pugna- 

 cious, and is apparently more than a match for the other species with which it 

 comes in contact, even if a trifle larger than itself 



The nests of the Rufous Hummingbird resemble those of Anna's very 

 closely in the general make-up, being lined inside with cotton down, while the 

 outside is more or less profusely covered witli fine mosses, shreds of bark, and 

 occasionally a few lichens. An average nest measures 1.^ inches in outer 

 diameter bv I4 inches in depth; the inner cup is about seven-eighths of an 

 incli in width by one-half inch deep. No feathers, however, are used in tlie 

 inner lining in any of the specimens before me, as is frequently the case in 

 the nests of Anna's Hummingbirds. Beside the trees, shrubs, etc., already 

 mentioned, they are also occasionally placed in cypress, fir, and other conifers, 

 wild currant, and salmonljerry bushes. Mr. Clyde L. Keller, of Salem, Oregon, 

 rejiorts taking a set of three eggs of this species from a nest in a blackberry 

 bush, the only otliej" instance known to me where this niimber has been found 

 in a Hummingbird's nest, excepting those recorded under Trocliilus alexandri. 



The eggs resemble those of our other Hummingbirds in color and shnpe. 

 The average measurement of seventeen specimens in the United States National 

 Museum collection is 12.61 by 8.40 millimetres, or about 0.50 by 0.33 inch. 

 The largest e^^g measures 13.46 by 8.64 millimetres, or 0.53 by 0.34 inc)i; the 

 smallest, 11.94 by 8.13 millimetres, or 0.47 by 0.32 inch. 



The tvpe specimen. No. 21745 (not figured), from a set of two eggs, Ben- 

 dire collection, was taken by the writer near Fort Lapwai, Idaho, on June 27, 

 1871. 



76. Selasphorus alleni Henshaw. 



ALLEN'S HUMMINGBIRD. 



ISelasphnrus alleni Henshaw, Bulletin Nuttall Ornithological Club, II, 1877, 5.3. 



(B — , C — , R 341, C 412, U 434.) 



Geographical range: Western North America; north to southern British Colum- 

 bia; south through Washington, Oregon, California, and southern Arizona; in winter to 

 northern Mexico and Lower California ?. 



The range of Allen's, also known as the "Green-backed," Hummingbird is 

 not very well defined as yet; this is mainly caused by its strong resemblance to 

 the preceding species, making it a very difficult matter to distinguish it positively 

 on the wing, and Allen's Hummingbird is undoubtedly frequently mistaken for 

 the Rufous. Tt appears to be onlv a summer resident in the United States and 

 British Columbia, .and its lu'eeding range is coextensive with its distribution. 

 Allen's Hummingbird "was first discovered by Mr. Charles A. Allen, at Nicasio, 

 California, and was subsequently described by Mr. H. W. Henshaw in the "Bul- 

 letin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club" (Vol. II, 1877, p. 53). It is apparently 

 not nearly as common as the Rufous Hummingbird, and comparatively few .speci- 

 mens have been taken outside of (jalifornia. Mr. R. H. Lawrence records it 



