I IO 
BIRDS OF THE BAHAMA ISLANDS. 
If Dr. Bryant’s account of this species is correct, it does not 
appear to have any regular breeding season, as I have taken its 
nest and eggs in June, and was shown two nests which were taken 
by a gentleman near Nassau in the month of December. 
Their flight is very rapid, as they dart from place to place in 
a sudden, jerky sort of way; while hovering over a flower, the 
movement of the wings is so rapid that it is impossible to follow 
them with the eye, producing a slight humming sound, from which 
the bird has derived its name. 
Fig. Gould’s Mon. Trochil., Vol. III. 
DO RICH A LYRURA. Gould. 
Lyre-tailed Humming-bird. 
Adult Male. — General appearance the same as D. evelynce, but 
differs from it by showing the beautiful purple violet on the forehead 
as well as on the throat, and also having a much longer tail, formed 
somewhat in the shape of a lyre, from which this bird has derived 
its name. The throat of D. lyrura shows bright blue , in some lights, 
on the lower part, while that of D. evelynce is almost entirely purple- 
violet, showing the bluish tinge very slightly if at all. 
Length 3.64, wing 1.60, tail 1.58, tarsus .13, bill .60. 
Like many others of its family, the Lyre-tailed Humming-bird 
is restricted to a single island. It inhabits Inagua, and although 
