INTRODUCTION. xxxvii 



Genus Eutoxeres, Reichenh, 



The oldest-known species of this form is the — 



3. Eutoxeres Aquila Vol. I. PI. 3. 



Eutoxeres Aquila, Reichenb. Aufz. der CoL p. 15 ; Id. Troch. Enum. p. 12 ; Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii. 



p. .M, note. 



Myiaetim aquila, Bonap. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1854, p. 249. 



Habitat, Costa Rica, New Granada, and Ecuador. 



The following notes respecting this species, by Dr. J. King Merritt, will be read with interest. They are 

 extracted from the 6th volume of the * Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York/ p. 139 :— 



"It was, as near as I can recollect, during the month of September 1852, that I saw for the first time and 

 obtained a specimen of this (to me) curious and novel bird. I was at that time stationed in the mountainous 

 district of Belen, province of Veragua, New Granada. 



" My attention at that particular period was directed towards the collection of specimens of the Humming- 

 Bird family. One day, while out hunting a short distance from the camp, I was startled by the swift approach of 

 a small object through the close thicket, which darted like a rifle-bullet past me, with a loud hum and buzzing of 

 wings. Indeed, it was this great noise that accompanied its flight that especially attracted my attention as some- 

 thing uncommon. 



" The bird continued its flight but a short distance beyond the spot where I stood, when it suddenly stopped 

 in its rapid course directly in front of a flower. There for a moment poising itself in this position, it darted upon 

 the flower in a peculiar manner ; in fact, the movements which now followed were exceedingly curious. Instead 

 of inserting its beak into the calyx by advancing in a direct line towards the flower, as customary with this class 

 of birds, this one performed a curvilinear movement, at first stooping forward while it introduced its beak into the 

 calyx, and then, when apparently the point of the beak had reached the desired locality in the flower, its body 

 suddenly dropped downwards, so that it seemed as though it was suspended from the flower by the beak. That 

 this was not actually the case, the continued rapid movement of its wings demonstrated beyond a doubt. In this 

 position it remained the ordinary length of time, and then, by performing these movements in the reverse order 

 and direction, it freed itself from the flower, and afterwards proceeded to the adjoining one, when the same opera- 

 tion was repeated as already described. 



" The flower from which it fed is somewhat peculiar in form, &c. The plant belongs to the Palm species, and 

 grows in low marshy places, on or near the margins of rivers and mountain streams. It consists of a dozen or 

 more straight stems, each of which terminates above in a broad expanded leaf that somewhat resembles the plan- 

 tain. These stems all start from a clump at the surface of the ground, but they immediately separate and sHghtly 

 diverge from each other. The stems with the leaf grow to the height of six to ten feet, more or less. From one 

 or two of the centre stems a flower-stalk puts forth, which hangs pendent, and to this are attached alternately on 

 either side the flowers, while the space between each corresponds with the attachment of the one on the opposite 

 side of the stalk. 



" The flower resembles somewhat in form the Roman helmet inverted, and is attached, as it were, by the point 

 of the crest to the stalk. It is a fleshy mass, and the cavity of the calyx extends in a tortuous manner downwards 

 towards the attachment of the flower to the stalk." 



4. Eutoxeres Condaminei ............. Vol. I. PL 4. 



Eutoxeres Condaminei, Reichenb. Aufz. der Col. p. 15 ; Id. Troch. Enum. p. 12 ; Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii. 

 p. 3, note. 



Myidetina condaminiy Bonap. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1864, p. 249. 



Habitat, Eastern Ecuador. 



For the knowledge of the existence of E, Condaminei science is indebted to the researches of M. Bourcier, who 

 brought specimens from Archidona. 



Genus Glaucis, Boie. 

 This genus comprises, as far as at present ascertained, six well-determined species, three of which are very 



