2 The Humming Bird. 



there the key of the Mexican hieroglyphs, illustrating their 

 manuscripts ? This is a matter of great importance not only 

 to Mexico, but to all America, because there are some 

 probabilities that TuLLAN can be considered as the place 

 from which the old civilizations of the ASTECS, and INCAS 

 spread from. 



A.B. 



RECENT SCIENTIFIC AND OTHER 

 PUBLICATIONS. 



With Notes by the Editor. 



1891. — Annual Report of the Board of Regents 

 of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington. One large 

 Volume, 765 pages and Index, with a great number of illus- 

 trations. Its contents are :— VARIOUS REPORTS OF THE 

 Departments of the National Museum, among which 

 the HUMMING Birds, by Robert Ridgway. This part is 

 excessively good, and most interesting. It treats extensively 

 of the early history of these charming birds, their origin, 

 names, geographical distribution, migrations, habits, abun- 

 dance of individuals, actions and attitudes, manner of flight, 

 disposition, intelligence, nests and eggs, all beautifully illus- 

 trated with good woodcuts, figuring the most striking struc- 

 tures, food, characters, and relationships, also woodcuts 

 showing the skeleton of Trochilus colubris, and the dorsal 

 and ventral aspects of the pterylosis, the shoulder girdle, of 

 Selasphorus platycercus, the head of Eulampis holosericeus, 

 and the details of structure of the tongue of these birds. 

 Then follows two very interesting, and well-made black 

 plates, figuring the largest species, Patagona gigcis, and the 

 smallest, Mellisuga minima, after which, are figured a good 

 series of the variations of the bill, the wing, and tail, orna- 

 ments of the head, the legpuff of Panoplites flavescens, and 

 the short tarsal feathers of Heliodoxa jacula. Nine beauti- 

 ful black plates, chiefly copied from Gould, represent, life 

 size, Steganura underwoodi, Oxypogon guerini } Ram- 

 phomicron herraniy Cephallepis delalandei, Gouldia conversi, 

 and popelairei, Lophornis helenae, adorabilis, reginae, re- 

 gulus, delattrei, ornatus,a.x\d magnificus, Acestrura heliodori, 

 Eriocnemis alinae and Microchera albocoronata, ending 



