184 Mr. H. Durnford on the Birds of 
of tala, sauce, and reeds, which grow abundantly in the 
riverain wood; but I soon found that I had only to stand still 
for a few moments, and the inquisitive disposition of this bird 
overpowered its fear of man. It is more sluggish in its move¬ 
ments than either Phacellodomus ruher or P. frontalis , but, 
with this exception, seems to resemble them closely in its 
habits. Its food consists of small insects, principally Cole- 
optera. Iris light fulvous; upper mandible dark horn-colour; 
under mandible, legs, and feet pale slate. 
63. Calliperidia furcifera (Shaw); Scl. et Salv. Nomencl. 
p. 90. 
Our three Humming-birds are all summer visitors, a few 
remaining during the winter. This species is the most un¬ 
common, but is occasionally seen in the riverain wood, and, 
like the other two, may generally be found hovering over 
the flowers of the ceiba tree, a species of Acacia. I ob¬ 
served one on the 29th of July last, at Belgrano railway-sta¬ 
tion, perched on a telegraph-wire; the day was very warm 
and bright. ? . Beak dark brown. 
64. Hylocharis sapphirina (Gm.); Scl. et Salv. 1. c. p. 93. 
Common in the summer. Beak light flesh-colour, tip very 
dark brown. 
65. Chlorostilbon splendidus, Vieill.; Elliot, Ibis, 1875, 
p. 165. 
The commonest species of Humming-bird we have, and 
abundant in the summer. I saw one specimen on a bright 
warm day the beginning of last June in a sheltered garden 
near the river; but it is unusual to see them in the winter. 
They feed chiefly from the flowers of the ceiba tree ; and the 
stomach of one shot on the 7th March contained fragments 
of minute Coleoptera. Beak dark flesh-colour, three quarters 
of upper mandible from the tip black. 
66. Antrostomus parvulus (Gould). 
Resident, but probably, from its shy and retiring disposi¬ 
tion, considered rarer than it really is. Like our Nightjar, 
it frequents open spots in sheltered coppices or banks under 
