Mr. D. G. Elliot on the Trochilidse. 
45 
ning from the chin to the breast; and in some specimens 
the green feathers encroach upon the throaty only permitting 
the white to appear in spots. This last style Mr. Gould has 
described as distinct in his monograph of the Trochilidse 
under the name of affinis. He says that Mr. Beeves^ of Eio 
Janeiro^ called his attention to the bird^ and stated that it 
had a different note from T. brevirostris, and placed its nest 
in a different ^ituation^ although what that was he did not 
inform us. Judging from the skins^ of which I have a 
series before me from the vicinity of Eio Janeiro_, as well as 
the province of Minas Geraes^ I can perceive no difference 
whatever that in my opinion should constitute them distinct 
species. The extent of white on the throat varies considerably 
among the specimens ; and in some from the vicinity of Eio 
the throat is quite as fully covered with green feathers as are 
those of specimens from Minas Geraes^ while all before me 
from that province exhibit some white upon the throaty and 
do not have this part entirely uniform green^ as represented 
in the figures of Mr. Gould^s plate^ which therefore is_, I 
think_, rather apt to mislead in this respect. In his compa¬ 
rison of T. brevirostris and T. affinis, Mr. Gould says that the 
latter is altogether more delicately formed than the T. brevi¬ 
rostris j has an almost uniform pale green tail_, and a breast 
without the slightest appearance of white in the centre.” In 
size the birds from the two localities appear to me to be ex¬ 
actly alike j and I cannot perceive any appreciable difference in 
' the colour of the tails. I have never seen an example with 
an entirely uniform green throaty all the specimens observed by 
me, from every locality, having some trace of white amongst 
the green. I may add that among my examples are some 
from Minas Geraes, named T. affinis, and others from the 
vicinity of Rio, marked T. brevirostris, obtained from Mr. 
Gould, between which no difference whatever .exists in colo¬ 
ration. I have no hesitation in placing T. affinis among the 
synonyms of T. brevirostris. 
-G 8. Thaumatias compsa. 
Agyrtria mellisuga, Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. iii. p. 34. 
sp. 71. , 
