BIRDS — TROCHILIDAE — SELASPIIORUS PLATYCERCUS. 
135 
shade on the covered edges of the feathers on the lower part of the hack and rump, The sides 
of the body along the wings and the under tail coverts are pale cinnamon ; the throat with 
occasional spots of green and metallic red ; the rest of the under surface dull white tinged with 
brown across the breast. The tail feathers are cinnamon at the base, then violaceous black ; all 
are tipped with white, except the middle one, on either side, which is golden green to near the 
black tip. There is also an indication of green between the black and cinnamon of the other 
feathers. 
In both male and female there is a concealed tuft of white feathers near the insertion of the leg. 
This species is entirely dissimilar from any other North American humming bird, and is 
perhaps the only one without indication of metallic green on the belly. The rufous feathers of 
both sexes readily distinguish it from any other North American species. There is, however, 
a closely allied South Mexican species, Selasphorus scintilla of Gould, from Veragua, (Proceed- 
ings Zool. Soc. 1850, 162,) which is very similar, differing chiefly in the smaller size. 
I cannot discover in the Trochilus ruber of Linnaeus the exclusive characters of the present 
species. 
List of specimens. 
Catal. 
No. 
Sex and 
age. 
Locality. 
When collected. 
Whence obtained. 
Orign'l 
No. 
Collected by— 
Length. 
Extent. 
6058 
6059 
6060 
6061 
6062 
6063 
6064 
6065 
1943 
2896 
1198 
1268 
6057 
6067 
7981 
8 
Q 
8 
8 
8 
8 
Q 
8 
o 8 
8 
9 
8 
8 
Steilacoom, W. T 
April 26,1856 
Dr. Suckley 
332 
do 
do 
do 
do 
April 21,1856 
do 
333 
do 
April 28,1856 
do 
do 
do 
do 
331 
330 
311 
3. 87 
3. 87 
3. 92 
3.94 
4. 69 
4. 25 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
May 29, 1835 
do 
J. K. Townsend . 
do— 
do 
S. F. Baird 
Winter' 53-' 54 
El Paso, Texas... 
Maj. Emory 
J. H. Clark 
Q 
SELASPHORUS PLATYCERCUS, Gould. 
Broad-tailed Humming Bird. 
Trochilus platycercus, Sw. Philos. Mag. I, 1827, 441, (Mexico.) 
Selasphorus platycercus, Gould', Mon. Trochilid. or Humming Birds, iii, May, 1852. 
Ornismia tricolor, Lesson, Colibris, 125, (no date) ; pi. xiv, (Brazd.)— Ib. Trochilidees, 1831, 156 ; pi. lx, (Mexico.) 
Jardine, Nat. Lib. II, 77; pi. xiii. 
Ornismya montana, Lesson, Trochilid. 1831, 161 ; pi. lxiii, adult, and 163 ; pi. lxiv, young, (Mexico.) 
Sp. Ch.— Outer primaries greatly attenuated at the end. Outer tail feathers nearly linear, but widening a little from the 
base ; its width .20 of an inch. Tail slightly graduated and emarginate. Male above and on the sides metallic green ; chin and 
throat light reddish purple, behind which, and along the belly to the tail, is a good deal of white. Wings and tail dusky 
purplish ; the tail feathers, excepting the internal and external ones, edged towards the base with light cinnamon. 
Length, 3.50 ; wing, 1.92 ; tail, 1.40. Bill, gape, 80. 
Hab. — Mexico, as far north as El Paso, Texas, hitherto the only known locality in the United States. 
