52 LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 



I saw only one individual. As this species m*- 

 grates to the southward, it is replaced by a 

 larger species, which will be presently described. 

 I do not believe the small kind breeds in Chile, 

 for, during the summer their nests were com- 

 mon to the south of that country. The migra- 

 tion of the Humming-birds on both the east and 

 west coast of North America, exactly corres- 

 ponds to what takes place in this southern con- 

 tinent. In both cases, they move towards the 

 tropic during the colder parts of the year, and 

 retreat northward (and southward) before the 

 returning heat. Some, however, remain during 

 the whole year in Tierra del Fuego ; and in 

 Northern California (which, . in the northern 

 hemisphere, has the same relative position which 

 Tierra del Fuego has in the southern,) some, ac- 

 cording to Beechey, likewise remain. 



" The second species, TEOCHILTTS GIGAS, is a 

 very large bird for the delicate family to which 

 it belongs. In the neighbourhood of Valparaiso, 

 during this year (1834), it had arrived in num- 

 bers a little before the vernal equinox. It comes 

 from the parched deserts of the north, probably 

 for the purpose of breeding in Chile. When on 

 the wing, the appearance of this bird is singular. 

 Like others of the genus, it moves from place to 

 place with a rapidity which may be compared to 

 that of a Syrphus amongst dipterous insects, and 

 a Sphinx among moths ; but, whilst hovering 

 over a flower, it flaps its wings with a very slow 



