HUMMINGBIRDS 
235 
KEY TO ADULT MALE TROCHILUB. 
1. Throat velvety black. Rocky Mountains to the Pacific. 
1f mi , alexandri, p. 235. 
1 . ihroat metallic crimson. Plains to Atlantic . . . colubris, p. 235. 
Subgenus Trochilus. 
428. Trochilus colubris Linn. Ruby-throated Hummingbird. 
Adult male. Chin velvety black, scales of gorget brilliant crimson , upper 
parts bronzy gTeen; under 
parts dark gray glossed with 
green; wing with six inner 
primaries abruptly shorter 
than the rest. Adult female: 
tail with middle feathers all 
green, the rest green basally, 
then black; three outer pairs 
broadly tipped with white. 
Young male : similar to adult 
female, but throat streaked 
with dusky, and feathers of 
upper parts edged with pale 
buffy. Young female: sim¬ 
ilar, but throat without 
streaks, and tail more 
rounded. Male : length 3.07- 
3.25, wing 1.60, tail 1.25, tail 
forked for about .30-.35, ex¬ 
posed culmen .55-.G5. Fe¬ 
male : length 3.50-3.85, wing 
1.80, tail 1.20, bill .70. 
Distribution. — Breeds 
from the Atlantic to western 
parts of Nebraska and Texas, 
and from Labrador south to 
Florida ; migrates to Cuba, Mexico, and Central America. 
Nest. — A felted cup of soft vegetable fibers coated with lichen and 
fastened with web ; saddled on to a twig or small branch of a tree, usually 
10 to 20 feet from the ground. Eggs : 2, white. 
Food. — Largely minute spiders and insects. 
The ruby-throated hummingbird has been reported as breeding in 
the western parts of Nebraska and Texas. 
429. Trochilus alexandri Bourc. Muls. Black-chinned Hum¬ 
mingbird. 
Adult male. — Gorget above opaque velvety black , below metallic violet glit¬ 
tering with purple,blue, and peacock green lights; upper parts 
greenish ; under parts soiled whitish, green on sides. Adult 
female: upper parts bronzy green ; under parts grayish; 
tail much rounded , middle pair of feathers about the longest 
and wholly green, next two feathers green tipped with black, 
outer three tipped with white. Young : similar to adult female, 
but feathers of upper parts tipped with buffy or rusty and 
throat of male streaked with dusky. Male: length 3.30-3.75, wing L7(L 
1.75, tail 1.25, bill .70-.75. Female: length 3.90-4.10, wing 1.90-2.00. 
Pig. 307. 
