74 BLUE-BELLIED SAW-BILLED HUMMING-BIRD. 



m ing-bird, while the scaly feathers of the throat re- 

 minds us of T. mesalucus, and the rich splendour of 

 the plumage differs much from the sober browns ot 

 the Spotted Saw-bill. We make these observations 

 with every deference to M. Lesson's opinion. They 

 occurred to us when looking over his illustrations. 



The Blue-bellied Saw-bill is a native of Mexico, 

 where it is accounted rare. It is in total length about 

 five inches. In the full plumage of the adult, the 

 general colour is a deep-green, with a golden metallic 

 lustre. The fore part of the neck is clothed with 

 thick feathers, changing with the light from an eme- 

 rald-green with golden reflections, to a blackish- green 

 and deep velvet-black. The throat, and bordering 

 the dark centre of the neck, is a mild but rich azure- 

 blue, which is stretched upon the cheeks, and is lost 

 in forming auricular tufts of the same colour. The 

 plumes composing this ornamental part are of a scaly 

 form. The centre of the belly is of the same rich 

 colour, forming a large longitudinal patch, which 

 seems to vary in its size and breadth in different 

 specimens. The tail has a steel-blue lustre, and is 

 crossed with a deep indigo band, a short way from 

 the tip. Our first Plate represents a bird in this 

 state. In Plate second the rich blue feathers on the 

 cheeks and belly have not appeared, and the whole 

 plumage has a greater tinge of steel-blue and purple. 

 The bill and feet are black. 



In a young bird, or more probably the female, 

 Lesson has represented and described the flanks and 



