74 BLUE-BELLIED SAW-BILLED HUMMING-BIRD. 
ming-bird, while the scaly feathers of the throat re- 
minds us of T. mesalucus, and the rich splendour of 
the plumage differs much from the sober browns ot 
the Spotted Saw-bill. We make these observations 
with every deference to M. Lesson’s opinion. They 
occurred to us when looking over his illustrations. 
The Blue-bellied Saw-bill is a native of Mexico, 
where it is accounted rare. It is in total length about 
five inches. In the full plumage of the adult, the 
general colour is a deep-green, with a golden metallic 
lustre. The fore part of the neck is clothed with 
thick feathers, changing with the light from an eme- 
rald-green with golden reflections, to a blackish-green 
and deep velvet-black. The throat, and bordering 
the dark centre of the neck, is a mild but rich azure- 
blue, which is stretched upon the cheeks, and is lost 
in forming auricular tufts of the same colour. The 
plumes composing this ornamental part are of a scaly 
form. The centre of the belly is of the same rich 
colour, forming a large longitudinal patch, which 
seems to vary in its size and breadth in different 
specimens. The tail has a steel-blue lustre, and is 
crossed with a deep indigo band, a short way from 
the tip. Our first Plate represents a bird in this 
state. In Plate second the rich blue feathers on the 
cheeks and belly have not appeared, and the whole 
plumage has a greater tinge of steel-blue and purple. 
The bill and feet are black. 
In a young bird, or more probably the female. 
Lesson has represented and described the flanks and 
