GIGANTIC HUMMING-BIRD. 77 



the feathers are generally darker at the base, and the 

 paler tips give a slightly waved appearance to the 

 breast and belly: on the throat, the feathers, though 

 without lustre, retain the scaly form and texture of 

 the more brilliant species. The wings slightly ex- 

 ceed the tail in length, bend up at the tips, and ex- 

 hibit all the form of the most correctly formed or- 

 gan of flight ; they are of a uniform brownish -violet. 

 The tail is composed of ten feathers, of a brown- 

 ish colour, and with golden-green reflections ; they 

 gradually decrease in length, making the tail deeply 

 forked. This is nearly the description of the birds 

 which have hitherto been described as adult males. 

 The females and young are represented to differ, by 

 the feathers on the upper parts and wing-coverts be- 

 ing each bordered with pale rufous, and by those on 

 the breast and belly being tipped with white ; the 

 vent and lower tail-coverts are pure white. In Vieil- 

 ' lot's plate, the quills and tail feathers have each a 

 spot of white at the extremity. 



The first specimen which we saw of this bird was 

 brought by Lord Byron, from the expedition of the 

 Blonde to Chili, and it agreed nearly with the fe- 

 male figured by Vieillot. It is yet a very rare spe- 

 cies, and few are to be seen in the collections of 

 Britain. It inhabits the forests in the interior of 

 Chili it reaches the country of the Auracanas, 

 and extends to the base of the Andes. No speci- 

 mens have yet been brought from Brazil, which was 

 at first thought to be their abode. 



