LIST OF SPECIES. 13 



shaped, the tarsi are clothed, and the bill is very stout and slightly 

 up-turned at the point. The female is much duller coloured than the 

 male. One species only known, Pteroplianes temmincki, which extends 

 into Colombia, through Ecuador, to Peru and Bolivia. 



[Case 18.] 

 DOCIMASTES. « Sword-bill." 



The long bill, which exceeds in length the entire body of the bird 

 itself, is a character by which this Humming-bird may be distinguished 

 ficom every other kind at the first glance. Its use is to reach the 

 insects on which the bird feeds at the bottom of long tubular flowers. 

 One species is known, D. ensiferus, an inhabitant of Colombia, Ecuador, 

 and Peru. 



[Case 20.] 

 DIPHLOGENA. « Eainbow." 



Eanks among the most brilliantly plumaged species of Humming- 

 birds, and is remarkable for the blue and scarlet hues of the head. 

 The bill is straight and very long, the tail deeply forked. The sexes 

 are so different that for a long while the female of Diphlogena iris was 

 considered to be a distinct species. Two species are known, D. iris from 

 Bolivia, and D. hesperus from Ecuador. 



[Case 21.] 

 HELIANTHEA. " Star-ppontlets." 



Like the preceding birds, the members of the present genus are all 

 large, fine species, of the most brilliant coloration. All of them 

 have a kind of star on their forehead, and the upper surface of the 

 body is especially brilliant. Eight species have been described, which 

 are found in Venezuela and Colombia, through Ecuador, to Peru and 

 Bolivia. 



[Case 22.] 

 BOUECIERIA. « Incas." 



Bill very long and straight ; the tail long, broadened ; the tarsi bare, 

 the feet small and delicate, and generally white or rosy in colour. 

 The sexes are alike in plumage, which is rather peculiar, and in the 

 majority of the species black and white, with the crown blue or of some 

 other brilliant colour. The members of this genus are distributed 

 through Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru ; and thirteen species 

 are now recognized. 



