IIO BIRDS OF THE BAHAMA ISLANDS. 



If Dr. Bryant's account of this species is correct, it does not 

 appear to have any regular breeding season, as I have taken its 

 nest and eggs in June, and was shown two nests which were taken 

 by a gentleman near Nassau in the month of December. 



Their flight is very rapid, as they dart from place to place in 

 a sudden, jerky sort of way; while hovering over a flower, the 

 movement of the wings is so rapid that it is impossible to follow 

 them with the eye, producing a slight humming sound, from which 

 the bird has derived its name. 



Fig Gould's Mon. TrochiL, Vol. III. 



DO RICH A LYRURA. Gould. 

 Lyre-tailed Humming-bird. 



Adult Male. — General appearance the same as D. cvclyiur, but 

 differs from it by showing the beautiful purple violet on the forehead 

 as well as on the throat, and also having a much longer tail, formed 

 somewhat in the shape of a lyre, from which this bird has derived 

 its name. The throat of D. lyriira shows bright blue, in some lights, 

 on the lower part, while that of D. cvelyiicr is almost entirely purple- 

 violet, showing the bluish tinge very slightly if at all. 



Length 3.64, wing 1.60, tail 1.5S, tarsus .13, bill .60. 



Like many others of its family, the Lyre-tailed Humming-bird 

 is restricted to a single island. It inhabits Inagua, and although 



