'52 



THE HUMMING BIRD. 



l/ufy i, 1891. 



at that time is to dig some ditches of a great length, 

 3 feet deep by 2 feet wide. Then all of them men, 

 women and children drive them away in the ditches, 

 where they crush them as quickly as they can ; but 

 unfortunately it is quite impossible to destroy all. 



These young ones, when fully developed, fly away 

 and invade other localities. 



Since the last three years, Algeria has been invaded 

 periodically with the locusts, and large sums of money 

 have been granted for their extermination. My friend' 

 Mr. Kunckel d'Herculais, a celebrated entomo- 

 logist, has been sent by the French Government to 

 study this delicate question on the spot, and I think 

 he has been aiding a great deal the Algerian authori- 

 ties in trying to exterminate this unwelcome visitor. 

 They have destroyed immense quantities of eggs and 

 insects ; but it appears that the actual invasion is of 

 such a magnitude that all the cultures of Algeria and 

 adjacent countries are in great peril of being com 

 pletely destroyed, as in 1867, the year of the famine 

 brought on by them. 



Lately Mr. Brongniart, of Paris, has sent to the 

 Academy of Sciences a very interesting notice on a 

 vegetable parasit (a sort of microscopic mushroom) 

 which he thinks could be applied successfully to the 

 destruction of the locusts. 



The author of this remarkable discovery thinks that 

 it should be easy to produce a large quantity of this 

 special parasite, which reduced in powder could be 

 spilt on the ground in the countries menaced by the 

 invasion of the locusts. 



No doubt the idea is excellent ; but I doubt very 

 much of its efficacity, as it should require such an 

 immense quantity of this parasite. However, I think 

 it would be very interesting to give it a fair trial. 



I believe that something more to the point should 

 be to enter in communication with all the countries 

 concerned in this matter, such as Egypt, Algeria, 

 Tripoli, Morocco, Italy, French, Spain and Portugal, 

 and to edict a law protecting efficiently such 

 birds as the Bee Eater, Merops apiasler, the 

 Metallic Starling, Sturnus vulgaris, and other similar 

 species, which are great eaters of locusts. 



Since about 15 years, I don't know how many 

 hundred of thousands of these birds have been killed, 

 either for feeding or industrial purposes, and conse- 

 quently it means in a short time the extinction of the 

 said species and consequently a further increase of 

 locusts. 



In don't think I can err much if I say that by the 

 killing of so many hundred of thousands of these 

 birds during the last 15 years, it is as if several 

 millions of them had been destroyed, and when we 

 remember that a single bird will destroy as many as 

 200 insects or more per day, especially in the breeding 

 time, what a great auxiliary it should be in such 

 calamitous times as the present. It is milliards of 

 insects which would have been destroyed by these 

 birds if they had been in existence. 



Therefore I think it is of the greatest importance to 

 all the countries mentioned above that they should 

 concert themselves at once about the making of a 

 law, taking immediate effects, protecting the said birds. 



Meanwhile I will suggest also for immediate use a 

 trial of powerful electric lights posted in front of the 



places where ditches have been opened and canvass 

 stretched. 



If it was possible to attract them by electric light 

 as it is done for all sorts of insects, especially moths, 

 and also birds, it would be easy to destruct immense 

 numbers. 



To be continued. 



Notes on Rare Species of Humming Birds 

 and Descriptions of Several Supposed 

 New Species in Boucard's Museum. 



By A. Boucard. 



Continued from page 18 26, and 43. 



Calliphlox RORAIM/E, n.sp. 



Male. -- Upper part, dark bron/.y green, throat 

 metallic amethystine red as in Selasphorus platycercus, 

 beneath which is a very narrow band of white ; breast 

 and flanks, green changing to dark grey on the abdo- 

 men ; upper and under tail coverts, green ; tail, 

 purplish brown ; bill and feet, black. 



Total length, 3± in. : wing, if ; tail, if ; bill, f, 



Female. — Upper part, bronzy green ; throat, white 

 with a central spot metallic amethystine red ; beneath 

 which is a greyish band ; sides of neck and breast, 

 golden green ; flanks abdomen and under tail coverts, 

 rufous; tail' purple brown tipped with rufous; bill 

 and feet, black. 



Total length, 3 in. ; wing, if; tail, 1 ; bill, f. 



We are indebted lor this fine new species to the ener- 

 getic and well known collector Mr. Henry Whitely, 

 who discovered it at Roraima (British Guiana) in 1881. 

 I have also a young male specimen, differing only of 

 the female by the colour of the under part. which is 

 green, changing to dark grey on the abdomen, the 

 throat is black, mottled with a few amethystine red 

 feathers, a whitish band crosses the neck. 



Science is greatly indebted to Mr. Henry Whitely 

 for so many new species discovered by him in Peru 

 and British Guiana, and I hope that success will 

 crown again his efforts in the new voyage which he 

 has undertaken in the interior of British Guiana. 

 Hylocharis Guianensis, n. sp. 



Mate. —Upper surface, flanks and abdomen very 

 dark shining grass green, much darker than in sap- 

 phirina; chin, rufous ; throat, dark sapphirine blue 

 very bright ; upper-tail coverts, coppery ; wings, 

 purple ; under tail coverts, dark rufous ; Central rec- 

 trices, coppery, lateral ones, shining rufous, edged 

 with black ; bill, fleshy color with black tip. 



Total length, 3I in. ; wing, 2 ; tail, if ; bill %. 



Female. — Upper surface dark metallic grass green ; 

 under-tail coverts, coppery ; chin rufous ; breast, grey 

 spotted with amethystine blue ; sides of breast and 

 flanks, grass green; abdomen gray; under-tail coverts 

 gray rufous ; rectrices coppery purplish at tip, 

 lateral ones, coppery to the third of their length, then 

 black tipped with a large grey spot. 



Total length. — 3s in, ; wing, 2 ; tail, \\ ; bill, %. 



The principal difference between this species and 

 H. sapphirina is in the dark color of the upper part 



