REPORT UPON ORNITHOLOGICAL SPECIMENS. 



131 



in the immediate vicinity of the creeks, where only at this late season 

 there remained a few of the bright flowers about which they were seen 

 hovering. Their large size rendered them very conspicuous among the 

 other species, and as if aware of this they were much the shyest of all. 



123. Selaspliorm rufus, (Gmel.) Rufous-backed Hummingbird. 



By far the most abundant of the family in New Mexico and Arizona, 

 as shown in every locality visited by our party. Quite numerous at 

 Inscription Rock, but at Apache during the month of August they 

 were seen literally by hundreds hovering over the beds of brightly- 

 tinted flowers, which in the mountains especially grow in the greatest 

 profusion on the borders of the mountain-streams. This bird seems to 

 affect no particular locality, but is about equally abundant on the high 

 mountains, in the open tracts of pine-woods, in the valleys and deep 

 canons, or, in fact, wherever flowers are found. The males are very 

 pugnacious, and wage unremitting warfare on all the other species, as 

 well among themselves. Even as late as August it was not uncommon 

 to see these birds still in pairs, and established in certain areas, ol 

 which they appeared to consider themselves the sole possessors, allow- 

 ing no intruders. They manifested an especial animosity against the 

 Broad-tailed Hummer, and, on the appearance of one, would instantly 

 dart forth with shrill, angry notes, and attack and drive away the 

 intruder, while the female, sitting on some neighboring tree, would 

 watch the oft repeated contest with evident interest and solicitude. 

 At Camp Grant, during the last days of September, they were still 

 numerous, but after leaving this point I did not again see the species. 

 A series of over forty specimens were secured, representing all stages 

 of plumage. 



