( 250 ) 



the original (lcscrii)tiou it is easily seen that this example cannot be the true type 

 of T. sophiae. Bonrcier and Mulsant characterise their species as follows : " Dessus 

 (In corps revetu de plumes soyenses, d'nn vert moins fonce et plus Inisant sur la 

 iinqnc, Ics convertnrcs alaires et la moit.io anti'Tienre dn dos, ])assaiit an vert cuivreux 

 sur le cronpion et la couverture caudale, doiit li's dt-riiiOres plniucs soiit dun bleu 

 d'acier . . . Converture sous-candale, form^e de plumes d'un vert bronze, on d'un 

 gris bronze, t'troitcment bordt- de blanc." This entirely disagrees witli tho Costa 

 Kica form, in which the nropygiiun and npper tail-coverts arc strongly glossed with 

 coppery or purplish, wiiilc the lower tail-coverts are decidedly steel-blue with greyish 

 edges. On the other hand, the above terms aj)])ly ptrfectly well to 8. saucerottei, 

 of Western Colombia, which is also found in Bogota collections.* This species 

 (of which the Munich Museum possesses a couple from Cali, the type locality) has 

 the rump and upper tail-coverts bronzy green, the longest feathers only dull steel 

 bluish with coppery margins, and the under tail-coverts dusky brown, cilged with 

 whitish. 



Moreover, there is in the I'aris Museum a nearly adult specimen f from 

 Colombia (iil est Bogota), named and presented by Bonrcier himself, which 

 corresponds exactly to the description of T. sophiae and, besides, agrees in every 

 respect with typical S. saucerottei from Cali ! Hence, there seems little doubt that 

 T. sophiae is the same as S. smicerotlei , while the bird found in Costa Rica and 

 Nicaragua ought to be called S. hoffmanni (Cab. it lleine).t Those who might 

 object that so excellent an expert as Bonrcier would not have described the same 

 species under two different names I would remind of the case of LafieKna>ja said 

 (Del. & Bourc). This species was first made known by Delattre and Bourcier § 

 under the name Trochilus saiil, but in another paper published nearly simultane- 

 ously it was redcscribed as T. gaiji by Bourcier and Mulsant !;i 



Mr. llidgway (I.e.) accepts .S'. sophiae as the oldest specific title for the group. 

 It appears, however, that the article in the Revue Zoologique containing the account 

 of Trochilus saucerottei Del. & Bourc. ,^ has a slight priority, as may be inferred from 

 a note in the same periodic*! (on page ;il4) concerning the memoir in the Ainmles 

 des Sciences pht/s. et nat. etc. de Lyon.** 



Therefore, the nomenclature of the various forms has to stand as follows : 



(a) Saucerottia saucerottei saucerottei (Del. k Bourc). 



Trochilus Saucerrollei (err. typogr.) Delattre & Bourcier, Her. Zool. ix. p. 311 (.Sept. 184G. — ''Calj, 



Noiivelle Grenade "). 

 Trnchilus Snjihioc Bourcier & Mulsaut, .!«« S-i. plii/s. et n:\l., (tAyric. eh\ Li/oii \x. p. 318 (184G. 



— Bogota). 

 Saucerottia sojthiae saucerrollei (sic) Eidgway, Bull. U.S. .Mim. No. .50, v, 1911. p. 431'). 



/[all. Western parts of Colombia (Canca, Cali, etc.), also in Bogota 

 collections. 



* Mons. Simon has an ab-solutcly typical Bogota skin. 



t " No. S52, Amazilia »ophiaf (Bourc. & Muls.). Don de M. Bourcier, Colombie." 



X Hemithylaca Jloffmitniii Cabanis J: Heine, ^fll^. Heinan. iii. p. 38 (Marcli 1860. — Costa Kica). 



§ Trochilus Saiil Delattre & Bourcier, liev. Zmi>. ix, p. 309 (Sept, lR4e.— Quito, Ecuador). 



Ij Trochilus 6ayi Bourcier & Mulsant, Ami. Soi. 2>hyB. et nat.. (TAfjric. etc., Lyon ix. p. 325 (1846. — 

 loc. igu.) 



^ Her. Zool. i.\. p. 311 (Sept. 184G.— Caly, " Nouvelle Grenade"). 



*• "Tel est ic titre d'un travail que cet ornithologiste [viz. Bourcier] va insurer dans les AnnaU'S de 

 la Soo. Roy, tV Agriculture . . ," 



