EIEPFEE'S HUMMINGBIRD. 223 



79. Amazilia fuscicaudata (Fraser). 



EIEFFER'S HUMMINGBIRD. 



TrocMlus fuscieawdaUis Fraser, Proceedings Zoological Society, 1840, 17. 

 Amazilia fuscicaudata Eidgway, Proceedings U. S. National Museum, 1, 1878, 147. 



(B — , C — , E 345, 419, U 438.) 



GeoGtRAPhioal range : Northern South America.from Ecuador and Colombia, north 

 through Central America and eastern Mexico, to the lower Eio Grande Valley, Texas. 



RiefFer's Hummingbird, a common Central American species, claims a place 

 in our fauna from the fact that a single specimen has been taken at Fort Brown, 

 Texas. This was brought alive to Dr. James C. Merrill, United States Army, 

 for examination, in June, 1876, by one of the soldiers, and a careful description 

 of it was made by the Doctor at the time, as the man wanted to keep it; but it 

 shortly afterwards escaped from him. As it has not been obtained since then 

 in the lower Rio Grande Valley, notwithstanding the fact that considerable 

 collecting has been done there, it can only be considered as a straggler within 

 our borders. 



Mr. Charles W. Richmond has kindly furnished me with the following 

 interesting notes on this species: 



"Amazilia fuscicaudata is extremely abundant in the lowlands of eastern 

 Nicaragua. It outnumbers in individuals all of the other (five) s[)ecies of 

 Hummingbirds found in the same region. On the Escondido River this species 

 is confined to the banana plantations and the shrubbery around the houses, 

 where it finds an abundance of food and good nesting sites. It is the plantation 

 Hummer, only two other species occasionally wandering into the plantations 

 from the forest, which is the home of the other species. This Hummingbird is 

 inquisitive, like some other Hummers, and often poises 2 or 3 feet from one, 

 changing its position on any conspicuous movement from the object of its curi- 

 osity, and when satisfied darts off at great speed, uttering a succession of 

 shrill chirps. Its nest is frequently placed in small orange, lemon, or lime trees, 

 near houses, 4 or 5 feet from the ground. The bird selects any desirable site 

 for a nest, in fact often building it close to the end of the limb of a bamboo 

 hanging out over the river or creek, and in this case usually 6 <:)r more feet 

 above the water. The exterior of the nest is often covered with moss, which in 

 this damp region remains green during the occupancy of the nest and for a 

 long time afterwards, giving it a very pretty appearance. A nest found in 

 October had just been deserted by the young birds, one found late in November 

 contained fresh eggs, one found about the middle of January contained eggs 

 nearly fresh, and another one found the same day was in course of construc- 

 tion. The Spaniards here call Hummingbirds 'garrion.'" 



Mr. George K. Cherrie, in his Preliminary List of the Birds of San Jose, 

 Costa Rica, in speaking of Rieffer's Hummingbird, says: "The most abundant 

 species about San Jose, and, indeed, the most abundant species found on either 



