HYLOCHARIS SAPPHIRINUS. 



Red-throated Sapphire. 



Trochilus Sapphirinw, Gmel. Edit. Linn. Syst. Nat., torn. i. p. 496.— Lath. Ind. Orn., torn. i. 

 p. 313.— Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 324.— Jard. Nat. Lib. Humming-Birds, 

 vol. i. p. 147. pi. 28. 



Le Saphir, Buff. Hist, des Ois., torn. vi. p. 26.— Vieill. Ois. dor., torn. i. p. 73. pi. 35, and 

 p. 106. pi. 58. 



Sapphire Humming-Bird, Lath. Gen. Syn., torn. ii. p. 775.— lb. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 327. 

 Omismya sapphirina, Less. Hist. Nat. des Ois. Mou., p. 172. pis. 55, 56, 57.— lb. Les Troch., 

 p. 53. pi. 14. 



Hylocharis sapphirina, Gray and Mitch. Gen. of Birds, vol. i. p. 115, Hylocharis, sp. 36. 



sapphirimis, Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av., p. 74, Hylocharis, sp. 1. 



Trochilus fulvifrons, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. 39. 



Orange-faced Humming-Bird, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 172. 



Sapphire Humming-Bird, var. A, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 328. 



The true habitat of this species is the eastern portion of Brazil, over which it would appear to he universally 

 distributed, as I find in my collections specimens from the neighbourhood of Para on the Amazon, with 

 others from Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, and Minas Geraes ; and that this is not the limit of its range in either 

 direction is more than probable. 



My valued correspondent, Mr. Thomas Reeves of Rio de Janeiro, informs me that " it arrives in Rio 

 during* the months of July and August, and departs again in November; that, although it is not common, it 

 cannot be said to be rare ; that it frequents the sides of the forests, and at Novo Friburgo will occasionally 

 enter the gardens, but in such situations is rather shy." 



This species has a remarkably large fleshy red-coloured bill, much dilated at the base, and in some 

 specimens denuded of the feathers at the base of the upper mandible in a truncate form, as if they had 

 been pulled out to a certain distance in a straight line across the forehead : I notice this peculiarity, in 

 order to lead those who may be favourably situated for observing them, to ascertain whether this may not 

 be induced by some peculiarity in its habits analogous to the denudation of the face in some other 

 birds. 



I am indebted to Mr. Reeves for a nest and eggs of this species, accompanied by an accurate drawing of 

 another example, which I have taken the liberty of copying in the accompanying Plate. 



The nest is composed of a dull brown cottony vegetable material, bound together externally with green 

 mosses, and decorated with numerous pieces of greyish-white lichens, dead leaves, portions of the glossy 

 brown involucres of some composite plant and similar substances ; the eggs, as usual, are white, and two in 

 number, seven-sixteenths of an inch in length, by five-sixteenths of an inch in diameter. It would seem 

 that the nest varies according to the nature of the materials at hand ; the one figured being formed of a 

 paler coloured substance, destitute of the lichens and moss, but decorated on its lower part with pendent, 

 narrow, pale, greyish brown ribbon-like strips of the inner lining of the bark of trees. 



The male has the head, upper surface, upper and under wing-coverts, flanks and abdomen rich deep 

 shining green ; chin rufous ; fore part of the neck and the breast rich sapphirine blue, with violet reflexions ; 

 upper tail-coverts bronzy brown ; tail-feathers chestnut, the two centre ones with a bronzy hue, the 

 remainder edged with blackish brown; wings purple-brown; under tail-coverts light chestnut; bill fleshy 

 red, except at the point, which is black; feet brown. 



The female has the upper surface green as in the male, the crown approaching to brown ; the throat 

 pale rufous ; only a trace of the blue on the throat ; the under surface much paler, and fading into white 

 on the centre of the abdomen ; tail-feathers dark brown, the lateral ones tipped with greyish, and the 

 middle feathers glossed with deep bronze. 



The Plate represents both sexes of the natural size. 



