SELASPHORUS? HELOIS^E. 



Heloisa's Flame-bearer. 



Ornysmia Heloisa, Less, et De Latt. Rev. Zool. 1839, p. 15. 



Mellisuga Heloisa, Gray and Mitch. Gen. of Birds, vol. i. p. 113, Mellisuga, sp. 62 



Trijph(Ena heloisa, Bonap. Consp. Troch. in Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1854, p. 257. 



This beautiful species is so directly iutermediate, both in form and colouring, between the members of the 

 genera Cahthorax and Selasphorus, that it is extremely difficult to determine with which of them it should 

 be placed; in its size and in its glittering gorget it offers a close affinity to the former, and in the form of 

 its tail to the latter; under these circumstances, some naturalists would make it the type of a new genus, 

 and should other species possessing similar characters be discovered, it may be necessary so to do, but for 

 the present I content myself with placing it in the genus Selasphorus, with a mark of doubt as to that being 

 its proper place. 



The Selasphorus ? Heloisce is a native of the temperate regions of Mexico. M. De Lattre, to whom we are 

 indebted for its discovery, states that the examples he procured were found between Jalapa and Quatepu ; 

 that the male rises very early, does not search for food after nine o'clock in the morning, seldom leaves the 

 female and young, and confines himself to the forests, but does not disdain field flowers. 



The sexes differ considerably in their plumage, the male alone being adorned with a rich gorget. 



I am indebted to the late M. Damiano Floresi d'Areais for fine examples of this bird collected during his 

 last sojourn in Mexico. 



The male has the head, wing-coverts and upper surface rich golden green ; wings purplish brown ; central 

 tail-feathers greenish bronze, the remainder cinnamon-red at the base, to which succeeds a large oblique mark 

 of black, and a nearly round spot of white at the tip; throat glittering lilaceous red, the feathers short and 

 scale-hke in the centre, but lengthening on each side into prominent tufts ; below this a band of greyish 

 white terminating in a point on each side of the neck; flanks deep buff; centre of the abdomen and under 

 tail-coverts huffy white. 



The female is very similar to the male, but in Heu of the rich gorget has the throat spotted with brown 

 on a white ground. 



The figures represent both sexes of the natural size, on a Mexican orchid. 



