216 LIFE HISTORIES OP NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



According to my observations, this Hummer seems to be especially pugna- 

 cious, and is apparently more than a match for the other species with which it 

 comes in contact, even if a trifle larger than itself. 



The nests of the Rufous Hummingbird resemble those of Aima's very 

 closely in the general make-up, being lined inside with cotton down, while the 

 outside is more or less profusely covered with fine mosses, shreds of bark, and 

 occasionally a few lichens. An average nest measures 1^ inches in outer 

 diameter by 1^ inches in depth; the inner cup is about seven-eighths of an 

 inch in width by one-half inch deep. No feathers, however, are used in the 

 inner lining in any of the specimens before me, as is frequently the case in 

 the nests of Anna's Hummingbirds. Beside the trees, shrubs, etc., already 

 mentioned, they are also occasionally placed in cypress, fir, and other conifers, 

 wild currant, and salmonberry bushes. Mr. Clyde L. Keller, of Salem, Oregon, 

 reports taking a set of three eggs of this species from a nest in a blackberry 

 bush, the only other instance known to me where this number has been found 

 in a Hummingbird's nest, excepting those recorded under Trochilns alexandri. 



The eggs resemble those of our other Hummingbirds in color and shape. 

 The average measurement of seventeen specimens in the United States National 

 Museum collection is 12.61 by 8.40 millimetres, or about 0.50 hj 0.33 inch. 

 The largest egg measures 13.46 by 8.64 millimetres, or 0.53 by 0.34 incli; the 

 smallest, 11.94 by 8.13 milhraetres, or 0.47 by 0.32 inch. 



The type specimen. No. 21745 (not figured), from a set of two eggs, Ben- 

 dire collection, was taken by the writer near Fort Lapwai, Idaho, on June 27, 

 1871. 



76. Selasphorus alleni Henshaw. 



ALLEN'S HUMMINGBIRD. 



Selasphorus alleni Henshaw, Bulletin Nuttall Oruitliological Club, II, 1877, 53. 

 (B — , C — R 341, C 412, U 434.) 



Geographical range: W.evStern North America; norlb to southeni British Colum- 

 bia; south through Washiiigtou, Oregon, California, and southern Arizona; in winter to 

 northern Mexico and Lower California ?. 



The range of Allen's, also known as the "Green-backed," Hummingbird is 

 not very well defined as yet; this is mainly caused by its strong resemblance to 

 the preceding species, making it a very difficult matter to distinguish it positively 

 on the wing, and Allen's Hummingbird is undoubtedly frequently mistaken for 

 the Rufous. It appears to be only a summer resident in the United States and 

 British Columbia, .and its breeding range is coextensive with its distribution. 

 Allen's Hummingbird "was first discovered by Mr. Charles A. Allen, at Nicasio, . 

 California, and was subsequently described by Mr. H. W. Henshaw in the "Bul- 

 letin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club" (Vol. II, 1877, p. 53). It is apparently 

 not nearly as common as the Rufous Hunniiing'bird, and comparatively few speci- 

 mens have been taken outside of California. Mr. R. H. Lawrence records it 



