THE HUMMING BIRDS. 327 



trices (except middle pair) greenish basally, black subterminally, and 

 tipped with white. 

 They may be distinguished by the following characters : 



a\ Adult males with chin only and a line thence along anterior lateral edge of gorget 

 opaque hlack, the remainder of the gorget reddish. 

 b l . Gorget fiery metallic crimson or ruby-red, changing to golden red. Hob. eastern 

 North America. T. colubris Linn. Baby-throated, Humming Bird. (Page 327.) 

 b 2 . Gorget auricula-purple. Eab. Santa Barbara, California. 



T. viol aj n (/ulum Jeffries. Violet-throated Humming 2?in?.(Page 329.) 

 a 2 . Adult male with more than upper half of gorget opaque black. Lower part of 

 gorget metallic violet. Bab. western North America. 



T. alexan dri Bourc. and Mui.s. Black-chinned Humming Bird. (Page 331.) 



Ruby-throated Humming Bird. Trochilus colubris Linn. 

 (Plate xxxvn.) 



Trochilus colubris Linn., S. N. ed. 10, t, 1758, 120.— WILS., Am. Orn. II, 1810, 2G, pi. 

 10, figs. 3, 4.— Nhtt., Man. i, 1832, 688.— Aud., Orn. Biog. i, 1832, 248; v, 1S39, 

 544, pi. 47; Synop. 1839, 170; B. Am.iv, 1842, 190, pi. 253.— Gould, Mon. Troch. 

 in, 1861, pi. 131.— B. B. amlR., Hist. N. Am. B. n. 1874, 448, pi. 47, fig. 2. 



Trochilus aurigularis L,awr., Ann. Lye. N. H. N. Y. vn, Feb. 1862, 458. 



Northern Humming Bird (Swainson). 



Red -throated Humming Bird. 



L' Ornismya petit rubis (Mulsant and Verreaux). 



Chupamirto rubi (Ferrari-Perez). 



Chnpamirto color de fuego (D'Oca). 



Range. — In summer, the whole of temperate eastern Horth America, 

 north in the interior, to latitude 59°, west to the Great Plains. In 

 whiter, from southern Florida (Puuta Rassa, Key West, etc.), Bahamas, 

 Cuba, Porto Rico, aud eastern Mexico through Oeutral America as far 

 as Veragua ; Bermudas. 



Sp. Char. — Adult male : Chin, and a line thence backward to beneath 

 the eye, opaque velvety black, the rest of the gorget intense metallic crim- 

 son, changing to golden red; tail forked for about 0.30-0.35; length 

 about 3.07-3.75, wing 1.60, tail 1.25, exposed oilmen 0.55-0.65. Adult 

 female: Tail double-rounded, the outer feathers about as long as mid- 

 dle pair (sometimes a little shorter), the middle pair wholly green, 

 the rest green basally, then black, the three outer pairs broadly tipped 

 with white; length about 3.50-3.90, wing 1.80, tail 1.20, oilmen 0.70. 

 Young male: Similar to adult female, but throat streaked with dusky, 

 feathers of upper parts more or less distinctly margined with pale 

 buffy, and tail more forked. Young female : Similar to young male, 

 but throat without streaks, and tail more rounded. 



Adult male (No. 27J 3, Washington, District of Columbia, 1843 ; S. F. 

 Baird) : Above metallic bronze green, becoming darker and duller on 

 top of the head, where the metallic gloss almost disappears on the fore- 

 head — the green brightest on rump, upper tail-coverts, and middle 

 pair of tail-feathers ; remiges dull slate-blackish, with a faint purplish 

 gloss ; tail-feathers (except middle pair) darker and with more distinct 



