32 The Hmnmîng Bird. 



some multiple of fifty, and select some one member of the 

 club to send on the order and money and to distribute the 

 coins when received. Orders should be addressed to 

 A. F. Seeberger, Treasurer World's Columbian Exposition,. 

 Chicago. 



THE GENERA OF HUMMING BIRDS. 



Since the last six months I have been w^orking and re- 

 arranging my collection of Humming-birds, with the hope of 

 finding a way to adopt partly, or in its entirety, the classifica- 

 tion proposed last year, by Mr. Osbert Salvin, of Trochili 

 serrirostres, intermedii, and laevirostres ; but I am sorry to 

 say that I have not been successful, therefore I must continue 

 to follow my own classification, which I have made as natural 

 as possible ; but I must confess that it has been a very hard 

 work. I do not believe that other birds present such difficulties 

 of classification as the Humming-birds. 



To orive an idea of the difficulties encountered all alono-, 

 I shall just mention some of the genera included in the 

 Trochili serrirostres of Mr. Salvin. Heliothrix, Schistes, 

 a.nd A ugasf es, belong certainly to the family of Petasophoridae,. 

 having all in common, metallic blue or violet ear-covers, 

 peculiar to that family. 



Ramphodon, Androdon, and Glaucis, whose dentition is 

 very conspicuous, cannot be well separated from Pyginornis, 

 Phaethornis, Threnetes, Eutoxeres, etc., which are laevirostres. 



Chlorostilbon cannot be separated from Panychlora, 

 Eupherusa, and Elvira are closely allied to Agyrtria, and so 

 on with[many others. 



From what has been printed of the Genera, in Vol. II. 

 of the Humming Bird, I have been obliged to reprint pages 55 

 and 56, so as to make place for the genus, Abeillia, which 

 finds its place in my family of Cephalolepidae, and I have 

 been obliged to place Patagona after Eustephanus, agreeing 

 with that genus in many particulars, and forming the passage: 

 to Oreonympha, which begins my family of Metalliiridae. 



A.B. 



