peculiar and restricted range. Thus, O. pichincha and O. chimborazo occur only in 

 Ecuador, the former being confined to the volcanoes of Pichincha and Cotopaxi, and 

 the latter to that of Chimborazo; O. adelce lives on the Andes of Bolivia, O. leuco- 

 plcurus on those of Chili, while O. melanogaster and O. estellce inhabit the Andes 

 of Peru, the latter also occurring on those of Bolivia. The Chimborazan species, of 

 which an illustration is given on p. 1785, is olive green, with the whole of the head, 

 including the crown and the throat, deep glittering violet blue, the rest of the 

 under surface of the body being white, with the middle of the abdomen and flanks 

 blackish brown. Most of these hill stars have a patch of black or chestnut along the 

 abdomen, and the Chimborazan species differs from its ally only in having the 

 centre of the throat green instead of being entirely blue. The pichincha hill star 

 must be a bird which presents many curious features in its economy, if any 

 naturalist could study and write its history, the few notes which have been 

 published about it fully warranting this supposition. Mr. L,. Fraser states that 

 he observed this bird clinging to rocks, a habit which, as he justly observes, 

 explains the use of the longer feet and claws. He believes that these birds build 

 their nests under overhanging ledges of rock, and breed in companies, the size of 

 the nest being very large, equaling that of a man's head. The nest itself is 

 comprised of wool, vicuna's hair, moss, and feathers, while at the top of this 

 great mass is a little cup-shaped depression in which the eggs are deposited. One 

 curious nest was found by Professor Jameson of Quito, suspended to a rope hanging 

 from the ceiling of a deserted house. When one side of the nest is lighter than 

 the other, the birds restore the equilibrium by adding a small stone or a square of 

 earth to- the other side, so that the eggs run no danger of falling out. 



The largest known member of the family is the sole representative 

 *R' d ^ t ^ le & enus Patogona, and attains a length of eight and one-half 

 inches, while the wing measures between five and six inches. This 

 bird is found along the Andes from Chili northward to Eucador, and is easily recog- 

 nized by its large size and somewhat sombre coloration; while it is further distin- 

 guished by its strong feet, and the white band on the rump, which sharply contrasts 

 with the rest of the plumage of the back. The flight is also peculiar, for although, 

 according to Darwin, the bird hovers over flowers, it does so with a very slow and 

 deliberate movement, quite unlike the vibratory one common to most species. When 

 hovering by a flower, he says, its tail is constantly expanded and shut like a fan, 

 the body being kept in a nearly vertical position; while he further mentions that 

 he never saw any other bird where the force of its wings appeared, as in a 

 butterfly, so powerful in proportion to the weight of its body. Mr. Ridgway adds 

 that the flight of this great humming bird is quite as noiseless as that of a 

 butterfly. In Peru the species is not rare in the ravines, where several may often 

 be met with together. In its flight it presents considerable resemblance to a swift, 

 and only differs in its more subdued motions, though it often glides through the 

 air without a movement of the wings. It visits a certain species of Jacksonia, and 

 the head of every specimen is tinged with yellow from this plant. It has also a 

 habit of mounting into the air, beating its wings in a vertical position, and return- 

 ing to its perch. The only note is a subdued whistle. 



