XANTUS'S HUMMINGBIED. 227 



was placed underneath an awning- or shade of boughs and weeds in front of a 

 farmhouse. It was surrounded by downy heads of composite phxnts, and could 

 scarcely be distinguished from them, having, as usual, been made of raw cotton." 



This nest, which is now before me (No. 18563, United States National 

 Museum collection) is composed exteriorly of fine plant fibers, thistle down, and 

 shreds of moss, and these are seciu-ely fastened into place by spider webs; the 

 interior is lined with thistle down and raw cotton; it measures about If inches 

 in outer diameter by 1 inch in height. The inner cavity is large for the size of 

 the nest, measuring 1 inch in width by one-half inch in depth. The second 

 nest, No. 18564, taken by Mr. Belding on May 7, 1882, in a canyon near 

 Santiago Peak, Lower California, resembles the nest of the Black-chinned 

 liummingbird somewhat, being principally composed of plant down, covered 

 on the outside with a few scales of buds, seed capsules, fine shreds of bark fiber, 

 leaf stems, and an empty cocoon, and these decorations are fastened with spider 

 webs, while the inner cup is lined with plant down and other fine fibrous material. 

 This nest was saddled on the fork of a small twig. Its dimensions are about 

 the same as those of the first nest described, and like it is rather shallow. 



The eggs resemble those of our better-known Hummingbirds in shape and 

 color. The two taken from the first nest measure respectively 12.19 by 7.87 and 

 11.94 by 7.87 millimetres, or 0.48 by 0.31 and 0.47 by 0.31 inch; and those of 

 the second nest, 11.94 by 8.13 and 12.19 by 7.87 milhmetres, or 0.47 by 0.32 

 and 0.48 by 0.31 inch. 



The type specimen, No. 18564 (not figured), from a set of two eggs, was 

 taken by Mr. L. Belding on May 7, 1882, near Santiago Peak, Lower California, 

 as already stated. 



82. Basilinna leucotis (Vieillot). 



WHITE-EARED HUMMINGBIRD. 



Trochilus leucotis Vieillot, Encyclopedie Methodique II, 659. 

 Basilinna leucotis BoiE, Lsis, 1831, 546. 



(B — , — , E — , C — , U 441.1.) 



Geoghiaphical range: Tablelands of Mexico and Central America; north in the 

 United States to the higher mountain ranges in southern Arizona; south to Nicaragua, 

 Central America. 



This handsome Hummingbird has only very recently been added to our 

 fauna. Dr. A. K. Fisher obtaining a specimen on June 9, 1894, in the Chiricahua 

 Mountains, in southeastern Arizona. In writing of this capture he says: 



"During the early part of June a camp was made at Fly Park, a well- 

 wooded area southeast of the head of Pinery Canyon, at an altitude of about 

 10,000 feet. A boreal honey su.ckle (Lonicera involucrata) grows commonly 

 tln-ough the scattered woods of spruce {Picea engelmanni), fir {Pseudotsuga taxi- 

 folia), pine (Pinus ayacahuite), and aspen (Populus trenmloides). The flowers of 

 the honeysuckle attract great numbers of Hummers, and hundreds of Selas- 



