West-Indian Humming-birds. 509 



between these two localities. How has this isolation come 

 about ? * 



The beautiful Eulampis jugularis is very common in 4- 

 Dominica, and it seems to have an extensive range of country, 

 being found in equal abundance up in the haunts of T. ivagleri 

 and in the low country right down to the coast. Up in the 

 mountains it will be found frequently sunning itself by the 

 pathway-sides or feeding among banana patches, or among 

 the blossoms of a tree that grows to a good size and has 

 large bell-shaped yellow flowers. Along the coast, wherever 

 there are colonies of native huts it will be found again, 

 feeding among bananas, oleander, and hibiscus. Bananas 

 are favourite hunting-grounds, and where a patch is of any 

 great size one may come across several of the birds. I 

 never saw them in close proximity, except on one occasion, 

 when there seemed to be two or three hunting one patch of 

 rather small dimensions ; but it is impossible to tell whether 

 one sees the same bird over again or different specimens, 

 unless they are on view at the same time. 



They are quite tame, and being of a fair size are easily 

 discovered, even when at rest, especially as they are fond of 

 sunning their lovely plumage on a conspicuous dead twig by 

 the sides of the paths, and often will not trouble to fly away 

 though one passes within a few feet of them. Almost all 

 the Humming-birds I met with seemed to prefer perching 

 in conspicuous positions, choosing a bare twig outside 

 a bush rather than in the bush itself among the foliage. 

 The male looks splendid as he sits on a bare twig, basking 

 in the rays of the hot sun, by some steaming forest 

 pathway, his tail widely spread and the sun flashing from 

 his crimson-purple throat and breast and from his golden- 

 green wings and curious steely-blue upper and under tail- 

 coverts, the whole set off by the velvety blackness of the 

 rest of 'his plumage ; and a peculiarity is that the metallic 

 colour on his wings extends to the primary feathers. There 

 is considerable variety in the brightness of colour of the 

 plumage, some males being much more gorgeous than others. 



* [The old localities are wroug. The species is peculiar to Dominica. 

 Cf. Salvin, Cat. B. xvi. p. 87.— Edd.] 



