BIRDS-TROCHILIDAE-SELASPHORUS 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 Yeragua, (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 
3 
Steilacoom, W. T_.. 
April 26, 1856 
Dr. Suckley_ 
332 
6059 
Q 
_. . .do_- . _ 
_do._ 
6060 
3 
_do_ 
6061 
3 
......do---- 
April 21,1856 
April 28,1856 
_do_ 
------do_ 
333 
6062 
3 
------do-__ 
6063 
3 
_...do_.....__ 
_do__ _ 
331 
3. 87 
3. 94 
6064 
Q 
------do __ 
330 
3. 87 
4. 69 
6065 
3 
311 
3. 92 
4. 25 
1943 
o <$ 
Columbia river.__... 
May 29,1835 
------do. 
J. K. Townsend . 
2896 
3 
1198 
Q 
1268 
3 
3 
California ..._ 
S. F. Baird_ 
6057 
San Francisco...._ 
Winter ’53-’54 
R. D. Cutts_ 
Fort Tejon, Cal. ........ 
J. X. DeVesey.. . 
Maj. Emory__ 
6067 
El Paso, Texas_ 
J. H. Clark. 
7981 
Q 
Mexico___ 
J. Gould.. 
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, (Brazil.)— Ib. Trochilidees, 1831, 156 ; pi. lx, (Mexico.) 
Jardine, Nat. Lib. II, 77; pi. xiii. 
Ornismya montanu, Les Trochilid. 1831, 161 ; pi. lxiii, adult, and 163 ; pi. Ixiv, young, (Mexico.) 
Sp. Ch.— Outer primaries greatly attenuated at the end. Outer tail feathers nearly linear, but wicening 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. 
