TnoniiLiD.E — TiiK iiiMMixr, -lunns. 



I')l 



V"" 



Tiiii h iliis II '< .iiiii'/ri. 



The chief characters of this species are to l)e foiuKl in the violet, 

 steel-hlue, or steel-ureeii ri'Hections of the hiiuh'r jjiirt of the <i(M\^et, vary- 

 ing with tlie situation of the feathers and tlie specimen, as distinijjuished 

 from the l»rigiit liery or cn}>|»erv red of the otlier. Tlie cliin and upper 

 i)art of the throat extendinti- hi'ueath tlie eves 

 are oj)a([ue v<dvety or greenisli Idack, without 

 metallic lustre, while in T. co/nhrix it is only the 

 extreme chin wl.iich is thus dull in appearance. 

 The hill is ahout .10 of an inch longer, the tail 

 less deeply forked, and tiu'^ed with ^reen at the 

 end. 



It is excef In.g'j Viiltult to distinguish the female of this sjx'cies from 



that of T. ioli'hris. The size is rather 

 largcM', and the tail rounded, witluait any 

 •listinct emargination : the middle feathers 

 heinir.!') of an inch lon-jer than the lateral 

 ones, instead of actually shorter. The 

 color is nmch the same. The ])rimaries 

 arc also nuich hroader in the ])resent spe- 

 cies. 



In hoth species the outer tail-feathers, 



though hroader than in the male, are (juite 



acutely ])ointed on the terminal third, one 



side or t^ other of which is sliiihtlv concave, instead of heiuLi: linear to near 



the end, and rounded without any concavity, as in Srla.^pJiuni^ and Cdlifpti'. 



Hahits. This Ilumming-liird, originally descrihed as a Mexican species, 

 is found from the hi'dilands of that re])uhlic northward, not only to the 

 southern hordei-s of the western United States, hut as far north as the r>Sth 

 parallel. It was first di.scoy'Mvd on the tahle-lands of Mexico, east of the 

 city, hy Signor Floresi, a distinguished naturalist, who devoted himself to 

 the study of the Trocliili'l't' of Mexico, hut was first added to the launa of 

 Xorth Amer' hy Dr. 11^ »rmann, who detected it, and ohtained several 

 s])ecimens, within the hurying-ground of Sacramento City, Cal. There sev- 

 eral ]mirs remained during the ]»eriod of incuhation, and reared their young, 

 finding hoth food and shelter anions the flowerinii idants of that cemetery. 

 He found several of their nests which were essentially similar to the T. 

 coJiihri.^. 



Dr. Co(»])er met with this s])ecies along the Mohave ^iver. He saw the 

 first on th.e 'n\ of dune, lie also found one of their nests huilt in a dark 

 wdlow-thicket in the fork of a tree, eight feet fmm the ground. Those 

 afterwar 's found near Santa r.arl»a»-i were all huilt near the end of hanging 

 hranches of the sycamore, coiiNtructed of white down from willow catkiiLS. 

 aiiglutinated hy the hird's saliva, and thus fastened to the hrancli on which 

 it rested. These \vere huilt in the latt»'i .."tof A})ril, and early in May 



Trorhilus alexandri. 



