222 I^IFE HISTOEIES of north AMERICAN BIRDS. 



The averajj'e measurement of eight egg» in the United States National 

 Museum collection is 11.71 by 7.94 millimetres, or about 0.4G by 0.31 inch. 

 The largest Qiyu; measures 12.19 by 8.38 millimetres, or 0.48 by 0.33 inch; 

 the smallest, 10.67 by 7.37 millimetres, or 0.42 by 0.29 inch. 



The type specimen, No. 21737 (not figured), from a set of two eggs, Ben- 

 dire collection, was taken by the writer near Fort Klamath, Oregon, on June 

 11, 1883. 



78. Calothorax lucifer (Swainson). 



LUCIFER HUMMINGBIRD. 



Gynanthtis lucifer SwAiNSt)N, I'bilosophiciil Magazine, 1827, 442. 

 Calothorax lucifer Gray, Genera of Birds, 1848, J, p. 110. 



(B — , — , R 344, C 418, U 437.) 



Georkaphioal range: Tiible-lands of Mexico, from I'uebla and tlie Valley of 

 Mexico north to southern Arizona. 



We are indebted to Mr. 11. W. Henshaw for the addition of the Lucifer 

 Hummiiigl)ird to our fauna. He took a female of this species on August 7, 

 1874, near Camp Bowie, Arizona, wliere it appeared to be rare, and, as far as I 

 ;im aware, no other specimens have since then been taken within our borders. 

 Tlie male reseml)les Costa's Hiunmingbird somewhat in size and general colora- 

 tion, so that it can scarcely l)e recognized from it on the wing, and might 

 therefore be readily overlooked by the average collector. It appears to be a 

 common species in the more southern portions of Mexico, among the table- 

 lands of Puebla and on the borders of the Valley of Mexico. 



The late Mr. Bullock, in his "Six Months in Mexico," gives a description 

 of the nest and eggs of this species, and says: "They breed in Mexico in June 

 and July, and the nest is a beautiful specimen of. the architectural talent of 

 these birds; it is neatly constructed of cotton or the down of the thistle, to 

 which is fastened on the outside, by some glutinous suJbstance, a white, flat 

 lichen resembling ours. 



"The female lays two eggs, perfectly white, and large for the size of the 

 bird, and the Indians informed me they were hatched in three weeks by the 

 male and female sitting alternately. * * * In sleeping they frequently 

 suspend themselves Ijy the feet, with their heads downward, in the manner of 

 some parrots."^ 



The general habits of this species seem to resemble those of our better- 

 known Hummingbirds very closely. There are no nests and eggs of the Lucifer 

 LLunmiingbird in the collection, and I am therefore unable to give measure- 

 ments; but, judging from the size of the l)ird, its eggs should correspond closely 

 with those of Cali/pte costce 



I a fuller accouut of Mr. Bullock's paper on tbis species can be found in Mr. Robert Ridgway's paper 

 on the Hummingbirds, in the Report of the National Museum, 1890 (pp. 360-362). 



