AMAZILIA ELEGANS 



Eleg'ant Amazili. 



Erythronotat elegans, Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1860, p. 307.— Id. Intr. Trochil. 8vo, p. 162 



(1861). 

 Eratina elegans, Heine, J. f. O. 1863, p. 191. 



Polytmiis elegansy Gray, Hand-list of Birds, i. p. 133, no. 1699 (1869). 

 Sporadimts incertus,M\}h^rit,llht, Nat. Oiseaux-Mouches, ii. p. TQ (1876). 

 Amazilia elegans, Elliot, Synopsis of the Humming-Birds, p. 226 (1878). 



Mr. Gould had considerable doubts as to the position of this bird, the exact habitat of which still 

 remains unknown. Mr. Elliot has placed it in the genus Amazilia, but at the end of the genus, as if he too 

 considered it a little aberrant. 



The following was the original description of the species, as published in 1860 : — 



*'It is a very elegant species, and quite distinct from every other known Humming-bird; in its glittering 

 light-green crown, throat, and chest it looks like a Chlorostilbon, but the form of its tail and some other 

 characters ally it to the Erythronotce, with which I have provisionally placed it. 



^' Adult. Crown and all the under surface of the body glittering light-green ; back of the neck and back 

 golden- or orange-green; upper tail-coverts purplish-red or puce-colour; tail long, forked, and of a 

 purplish-violet hue with green reflexions on the tips of the two centre feathers; wings purplish-brown ; 

 tarsi white ; under tail-coverts grey with bronzy-purple centres; upper mandible flesh-colour at the base, 

 and black for the remainder of its length; under mandible flesh-colour, except at the tip, which is black." 



[R. B. S.] 



