264 
Mr. 0. Salvin on the 
/a# 
The white sides and the white spot oil the back show very 
conspicuously as this bird rests on its perch. 
12. Thaumastura henicura. 
Duefias. August. 
The Humming-birds* nests near the house at Duefias, in the 
year 1859, met with singular misfortune. "Without looking 
especially for them, I found three of Cyanomyia cyanocephah , 
three of Thaumastura henicura , and one of Campylopterus rufus 
close by, besides others more distant. Of these seven, one only, 
or perhaps two pairs, succeeded in rearing their young. The 
three nests of C. cyanocephala were all in the Cypress-trees. The 
first I took; the second was destroyed by some Indians after the 
eggs had been incubated for some time; the third remained 
unmolested, but I was not able to ascertain whether the young 
birds w r ere reared. The nest of C. imfus was also in one of the 
Cypress-trees, at a height of about 5 feet 6 inches from the 
ground. It had two eggs when I found it; but the day following, 
eggs, nest, and the branch on which it was placed, were destroyed 
by some Indians who were w r orking near. I am unable there¬ 
fore to describe accurately the construction of the nest of this 
last species, and can only remark that the old bird, most pro¬ 
bably the female, allowed me to approach very closely—indeed, 
so near that my head was within a foot of her. Of course I was 
obliged to tread softly and slowly, and to keep my eyes steadily 
fixed upon her. This tameness was a strong contrast to the 
usually shy habits of this species. 
Two out of the three nests of T, henicura met with no better 
fate than those just mentioned. One of these two was in a 
Coffee-tree, and had two eggs. These were destroyed by some 
means or other, soon after the hen bird had begun to sit. The 
other nest of the two was most curiously placed in the cup-shaped 
top of a fruit of the Nopal ( Cactus cochmellifer), the fastenings 
being dexterously wound round the clustering prickles, and thus 
retaining the whole structure most firmly in its place. This 
nest was remai’kably shallow; so much so, that, if it had not 
contained its two eggs, I should have pronounced it far from 
complete. It may be that, being based on a firm foundation 
