LEUCOCHLORIS ALB1COLLIS. 



White-throat. 



Trochilus albicollis, Vieill. 2nde Edit. duNouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., torn, xxiii. p. 426. — lb. Ency. 

 M^tli. Orn., part ii. p. 558.— Temm. PI. Col. 203. fig. 2.— Jard. Nat. Lib. Hum- 

 ming Birds, vol. ii. p. 93. 



Ornismya albicollis, Less. Man. d'Orn., torn. ii. p. 78. — lb. Hist. Nat. des Ois. Mou., pp. xxxiii 

 et 184. pi. 63. 



Lampornis albicollis, Less. Traite d'Orn., p. 282. 



Basilinna albicollis, Less. Ind. Gen. et Syn. des Ois. du Genre Trochilus, p. xxv. 



Colibri albogularis, Spix, Av. Sp. Nov. Bras., torn. i. p. 81. tab. lxxxii. fig. 1. 



Polytmus albicollis, Gray and Mitch. Gen. of Birds, vol. i. p. 108, Polytmus, sp. 43. 



Thaumatias albicollis, Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av., p. 78, Thaumatias, sp. 7. 



Thaumantias albicollis, Bonap. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1854, p. 255. 



Leucochloris albicollis, Reichenb. Aufz. der Colibris, p. 10. 



The southern part of Brazil alone, so far as we yet know, is the native country of this very pretty and well- 

 marked species, and numerous are the specimens that from time to time are sent to Europe from that great 

 emporium of bird skins, Rio de Janeiro. In some notes kindly transmitted to me by Mr. Reeves, that 

 gentleman states that it inhabits the Provinces of Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catharina and Bahia; that it may 

 be seen in the neighbourhood of Rio from May until November, but never very near the city, and that at the 

 same period it is equally abundant at Novo Friburgo. 



The markings of this species are so distinct and so different from those of every other Humming Bird, 

 that it is impossible to confound it with either of them. The sexes closely resemble each other in their 

 markings and in the colouring of their plumage, and the young at an early age assume the adult livery. 



The nest, which is of a rather large cup-shaped form, is a very beautiful structure, inwardly composed of 

 thistle-down, and outwardly of moss thickly interwoven with strong cobwebs, over which it is coated with 

 flat pieces of reddish-orange and buffy-white lichens, with occasionally the additional decoration of soft 

 downy feathers. It is generally placed in the forked branch of a shrub. The eggs, as usual, are two in 

 number, oblong in form and of a snowy whiteness. 



Mr. Reeves states that the local name of the bird is Papa branca, and that it utters two different cries : 

 one on the wing, which resembles Jack, Jack, Jack; and another when at rest, like Klaw, klaw,Jip,jtp. 



Head, all the upper surface, wing-coverts, chin and sides of the neck, abdomen and flanks deep shining 

 grass-green ; on the centre of the throat and breast a large patch of white ; lower part of the abdomen and 

 under tail-coverts white; wings purplish brown; two middle tail-feathers deep shining grass-green, the 

 remainder bluish black, the three outer ones tipped with white ; upper mandible black ; basal two-thirds of 

 the lower mandible fleshy, apical third brown ; feet brown. 



The figures are of the natural size. 



