DOEICHA. 345 



1. Doricha enicura. 



TrocMlus enicurus, Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. N. xxiii. p. 429 ' ; Temm. PI. Col. 66. f. 3 ^ 

 Thaumastura enicura, Gould, Mon. Troch. iii. t. 157 (Oct. 1852) ' ; Scl. & Sak. Ibis 1859, p 129* • 



Salv. Ibis, 1860, pp. 196 ', 264 ^ 

 DoHcha enicura, Gould, Intr. Troch. p. 95'; Salv. Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xvi. pp. 381, m7\ 

 Doricha henicura, Saly. Cat. Strickl. Coll. p. 365 ". 



Omismya heteropygia, Less. Hist. Nat. Ois.-JMoucbes, pp. xxi, 72, 1. 15 " ; Suppl. p. 97 ". 

 TrocMlus swainsoni, Less. Hist. Nat. Troch. p. 167, t. 66 '^ 



Supra nitenti-aureo-viridis ; capite summo obscuriore, capitis lateraUbus et mento nigris vix viridi tinctis, gula 

 mieanti-amethystina ; pectore cervino-albo ; abdomine medio albicante ; hypochondriis et tectricibus sub- 

 caudalibus aureo-viridibus ; rectricibns sex intermediis dorso coacoloribus, duabus utrinque extemis pur- 

 pureo-nigris ea extima proxima in pogonio interno rufo limbata : rostro nigro. Long, tota circa 4-7, 

 alfE 1-3, caudse reetr. med. 0-37, reefer, lat. 2-4, rostri a rictu 0-8. 



2 supra mari similis, capite summo obscuriore, dorso medio eupreo tincto : subtus paUide rufescens, loris et 

 area infra oculos nigricantibus ; reotricibus quatuor mediis dorso concoloribus, reliquis ad basin rufes- 

 centibus, apicibua albis et fascia subterminali lata nigra notatis. Long. caud. reetr. med. 0-6, rectr. 

 lat. 1-0. (Descr. maris et feminse ex Duefias, Guatemala. Mus. nostr.) 



Hab. Guatemala (Constancia ^, Skinner ^), Duenas ^ e, Coban ^ {0. S. & F. D. G.), Atitlan 

 and Panajachel ( W. B. Eichardson ®). 



The male of this species was described by Vieillot under the name of TrocMlus 

 enicurus \ and subsequently figured by Temminck with the same title 2, Lesson also 

 described and figured the same bird, his drawing being a reproduction of that of 

 Temminck, and proposed that the name should be changed to 0. heteropygia i"- The 

 same author subsequently described and figured the female as TrocMlus swainsoni 12. 

 None of these writers give any trustworthy account of the origin of their specimens. 



Doricha enicura is now known to be a common bird in the highlands of Guatemala, 

 beyond the limits of which country we have no certain evidence of its occurrence. It 

 is true that de Oca says that it is found in Yucatan, but in default of any direct evidence 

 on this point we believe that he mistook B. elizce for the present bird *. 



The name is also included, with doubt, in Mr. Henshaw's paper accompanying 

 Wheeler's Eeport f, but the specimen now proves to be a female of Calothorax lucifer^. 



This species is one of the most familiar of the whole family of Humming- Birds at 

 Duenas and its vicinity, and during our visits there we had constant opportunities of 

 watching its habits. In 1858 a large portion of the hacienda was under cactus- 

 cultivation for rearing cochineal, and during the month of May the flowers of the 

 cactus were much sought by Humming-Birds, especially this species, both males and 

 females flying together. During the winter months the females were much more 

 frequently seen than the males, which no doubt associated apart in more secluded 

 places. In August 1859 three nests were found: one of them was placed on the cup- 

 shaped top of a fruit of the cactus and fastened most dexterously to the clusters of 



* La Nat. iii. p. 203. f Wheeler's Expl. west of the 100th Merid. v. Zool. p. 381. 



t Ridgway, Rep. F. S. Nat. Mus. for 1890, p. 360 (1892). 



BIOL. CENTK.-AMEB,, Aves, Vol. II., September 1892. 44 



