GENEBA AND SPECIES, 175 



brown with purple reflexions ; under tail-coverts 

 white ; bill black. 



Length, 4 inches ; bill, f ; tail, If. 



Precise locality not ascertained. In Gould's 

 cabinet. 



Heliangelus Spencei (Trochilus Spencei, BOUT. 

 in Proc. Zool. Soc. 1847). 



The male has the beak black, straight and 

 cylindrical ; the forehead is adorned with scaly 

 feathers of a silvery greenish blue ; top of the 

 head and neck velvet black ; the gorget consist- 

 ing of scaly feathers, is of a metallic purplish- 

 violet, bordered below by a white band. The 

 general tint above and below is metallic green. 

 The upper mandible is black, the under mandible 

 white ; lower abdomen brown green. 



Locality : Merida. In Gould's cabinet. 



Heliangelus Clarissce (Trochilus Clarissce, Lon- 

 guem. 1840). 



This species is very similar to the preceding ; 

 but the forehead spot is metallic green, and the 

 under tail-coverts are white. 



Locality : Santa Fe de Bogota. In Gould's 

 cabinet. 



The other species of this genus are, Ornismya 

 Parzudaki, Lesson; and Trochilus amethysti- 

 collis, D'Orbigny. 



Of the habits of these " Messengers of the 



Sun," we have little positive information ; we 



! know, indeed, that they tenant mountain eleva- 



i tions, and are powerful on the wing, but the 



; elevation to which they ascend, and the pecu- 



