18 PACIFIC COAST AVIFAUNA. [No. 4 



ing just a trace of the violet coloration on the throat. Some adult males 

 also were taken, but hardly any females ; these were probably still attend- 

 ing to their family duties, as I have seen nests with eggs along the San 

 Pedro River in July. They breed quite commonly all along this valley, 

 and possibly a few breed in the mountains, but I do not know of any 

 nests being found there. They do not ascend to any great height in the 

 Huachucas and I have never taken one above 5500 feet. 



Selasphorus platycercus (Swainson). Broad-tailed Hummingbird. 



Although generally distributed over the mountains, and at times 

 quite common, this hummingbird is still far more often heard than seen. 

 The shrill buzz of its wings, that is of the male bird, is frequently heard ; 

 and time and again as the sound approached, passed, and died away in 

 the distance, I watched, but in vain, to catch sight -of the author of it. 

 Several times I have seen one leave his perch on a twig and dart off in 

 pursuit of another of the same species, and even then was unable to fol- 

 low him with my eye ; and though presently the sound of wings an- 

 nounced his return, I was seldom able to see the bird before he dropped 

 onto his perch. It is possible that this species remains in the Huachucas 

 through the winter as I saw a male bird near the base of the mountains 

 on February 28, 1903; and though not at all common, I saw and heard 

 them a number of times through the month of March. It was the middle 

 of April before they began to appear in any numbers, and from then on 

 they became more and more abundant. At this time they were seen at 

 a low altitude and along the canyons ; but after the summer rains began 

 and the grass and flowers sprung up, I found them mostly in the highest 

 parts of the range. At this time they were not nearly as restless and 

 pugnacious as in the spring and were more easily approached. I have 

 occasionally shot them on mescal plants, but they do not seem to feed 

 on them nearly as much as some of the other hummingbirds do. The 

 flight of the female is not accompanied by the buzzing noise made by the 

 male bird, and from their habits they are more inconspicuous and less 

 frequently seen than their mates. They breed in the highest parts of 

 the mountains, often in the pines and at a considerable distance from the 

 ground. 

 Selasphorus rufus (Gmelin). Rufous Hummingbird. 



I have not seen this species at any time in the spring, but about the 

 middle. of July they begin to make their appearance; and throughout 

 the month of August I found them very abundant, but frequenting the 

 highest parts of the mountains, principally; more being seen between 

 8000 and 9000 feet than elsewhere. The flowering mescal stalks are a 

 great attraction to them, and they seem to frequent them in preference 

 to anything else. I have seen as many as twenty Rufous Hummingbirds 

 around a single stalk, mostly immature birds, but with a fair sprinkling 

 of adult males. No adult females were taken at any time. The old males 

 were, as usual, very pugnacious, and objected to any other hummingbird 

 feeding on the plant they were patronizing ; but as they could only pur- 

 sue one at a time, and as the one pursued promptly returned as soon as 

 the chase ended, there was more or less confusion going on about these 

 plants all the time. Upon finding a mescal in full bloom I frequently 

 watched it for some time in the hope of securing some rarity, but in the 

 twittering, whirling mass of birds it was no easy matter to distinguish 

 the species. Occasionally a Rivoli would dart in, a giant among pygmies 

 and easily enough distinguished, but for the rest it was mostly guess 

 work. 



