THALURANIA FURCATA. 



Cayenne Wood-Nymph. 



MellisugaJamaicensis, violacea, canda hifurca, Briss. Orn., torn. iii. pp. 728, 732. pi. xxxvii. fig. 6. 



— Id., 8vo, torn, ii, p. 40. 

 TrocMlusfurcatus, GmeL, Edit. Linn. Syst. Nat., torn. i. p. 486. — Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. i. p. 304. 



— Jard. Nat. Lib., Humming-birds, vol. i.p. 125.pl. 23.— Vieill. Ency. Meth. Orn., 



part ii. p. 572.— Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 309.— lb., Steph. Cont., vol. xiv. 



p. 239. 

 L'Oiseau-mouche violet a queue four chue, Buff. Hist. Nat. des Ois., torn. vi. p. 37. — Vieill. Ois. 



Dor., tom. i. p. 71. pi. 34. 

 U Oiseau-mouche a queue fourchue, Buff. PI. Enl. 599. fig. 2. 

 Omismya furcata. Less. Hist. Nat. des Ois.-mou., pp. xiv, 82. pi, 18. — lb. Ind. Gen. et Syn. 



des Ois. du gen. Trochilus, p. xxij. — lb. Traite d'Orn. p. 273. 

 Poly tmus fur catus, Gray and Mitch. Gen. of Birds, vol. i. p. 108, Polyfmus, sp. 61. 

 Thalurania furcata, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part xx. p. 8. — Bonap. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 



1854, p. 254.— Reichenb. Aufz. der Col., p. 7. 



furcatus^ Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av., p. TQ^ TJialurania, sp. 1. 



Lesser Forh-tailed Hiimmmg-hird, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. ii. p. 75? — lb. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 297? 

 Furcated Humming-hirdy Shaw, Nat. Misc., vol. xi. pi. 397. 



It is impossible to say with certainty whether the bird described and figured by Brisson and the older 

 authors be identical with the species here represented or not ; if it be, they are certainly quite 

 wrong in stating Jamaica to be one of its habitats, an error which I am surprised to find repeated 

 by Lesson, Jardine, and other recent authorities; for so exclusively, in fact, does the bird inhabit the 

 continent of South America, that I believe it never occurs in any of the islands, not even the adjacent 

 one of Trinidad ; it enjoys, indeed, a very restricted range, being confined to Cayenne and Guiana, and 

 scarcely extending so far as the Amazon towards Brazil. The bird of the same form and style of colouring 

 which is found about Para, and which is usually considered to be the same, possesses, in the opinion of some, 

 sufficient differences to warrant its being considered distinct, and to receive a separate appellation, that of 

 T. furcatdides. Judging from the great numbers that are annually skinned and sent to Europe, this bird 

 must be very numerous in Cayenne; it frequently arrives in hundreds at a time, consequently a considerable 

 commerce exists between the dealers in Paris and the collectors in Cayenne. Being an exceedingly pretty 

 and elegant species, great care is taken to obtain it only at that season of the year when it is in its 

 finest plumage, and much attention is devoted to the making up of the skins. As is usual with all the 

 members of this genus, the female is totally different from the male in colour, and considerably so in the 

 form and character of the tail. It is surprising how few of this sex are prepared, w^hich is doubtless 

 due to their plumage being too dull and unattractive to demand attention. 



The male has the crown of the head, back of the neck, back and wing-coverts black in some lights, deep 

 green in others; throat shining grass-green; band across the back and shoulders violet ; under surface 

 beautiful deep violet-blue ; wings purplish brown ; tail bluish black ; under tail-coverts brown, margined 

 with grey. 



The Plate represents both sexes of the size of life. The plant is the Opuntia Sahmana. 



