THAUMASTURA COR^. 



Cora's Shear-tail. 



Ornismya Cora, Less, et Gam. Voy. de la Coq. Ois., pi. 13. %. 4.— Less. Hist. Nat. des 

 Ois. Mou., p. 52. pi. 6.— lb. Les Trocli., pp. 109, 111, pis. 39, 40.— lb. Traits 

 d'Orn., p. 275.— lb. Man. d'Orn., torn. ii. p. 82.— lb. Ind. Gen. et Syn. des Ois. 

 du Gen. Troch., p. xxxii. 



CalotJiorax cora, Gray and Mitch. Gen. of Birds, vol. i. p. 110, CalotJiorax, sp. 6. 



Trochilus Cora, Jard. Nat. Lib. Humming-Birds, vol. i. p. 129. pL 25.— Tscliudi, Faun. 

 Peruana, p. 39. 



Thmmastura cora, Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av., p. 85, Thaumastura, sp. L_Reich. Aufz. der Col., 

 p. 13. — Bonap. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1854, p. 257. 



This species has been named Cora by M. Lesson after the priestess of the Sun, so charmingly described by 

 Marmontel in his romance of the Incas. It is not only a very beautiful and elegant bird, but it is rendered 

 one of the most remarkable members of the entire group to which it pertains by the singular form of its 

 tail, which curious structure, however, is confined to the male sex alone. The females of the Cora, the Eliza, 

 the Fanny, and the Yarrelli, although very different from their respective males, are all remarkably similar to 

 each other, which circumstance most clearly indicates that these birds belong to one group, or that at least 

 they are very nearly allied. 



The native country of the Thaumastura Corce is Peru, over which it enjoys a rather wide range of habitat. 

 It is often spoken of by travellers as occurring in abundance between the port of Callao and the city of 

 Lima. Independently of this locality, I possess specimens brought from the interior of the country by 

 M. Warszewicz, and one which is labelled as having been procured in one of the valleys of the Andes. 



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

 metallic violaceous-crimson; under surface greyish-white; tail dull black, all but the outer feather on each 

 side margined on the internal web from the base to near the tip with white. 



The female has the head greyish-green; all the upper surface bronzy-green; wings purplish-brown, the 

 outer feather on each side with a light-coloured shaft; two centre tail-feathers green, spotted with black 

 near the end of the inner web and slightly fringed with white at the tip ; lateral feathers blackish-brown 

 with white ; under surface huffy-white. 



The young males differ very considerably from the adults of either sex : as might be supposed, the rich 

 colouring of the throat is entirely wanting; on the other hand the tail is similar to that of the adult, but is 

 neither so long nor so distinctly marked with black and white ; the throat and under surface are dull grey, 

 the former being indistinctly spotted with a darker colour. 



The Plate represents three males, a young male, and a female, of the size of life. The plant is a species 

 of Mimosa, copied from a drawing kindly lent to me by M. Bourcier. 



