Illustration: Color plate 47 detail 99.Stellula calliope.♂Cal., 17992.The red of the throat appears paler in some Mexican and Guatemalanskins; others, however, are not distinguishable from the northern specimens.Habits.This species is found throughout eastern North America, as far west as the Missouri Valley, and breeds from Florida and the valley of the Rio Grande to high northern latitudes. Richardson states that it ranges at least to the 57th parallel, and probably even farther north. He obtained specimens on the plains of the Saskatchewan, and Mr. Drummond found one of its nests near the source of the Elk River. Mr. Dresser found this bird breeding in Southwestern Texas, and also resident there during the winter months, and I have received their nests and eggs from Florida and Georgia. It was found by Mr. Skinner to be abundant in Guatemala during the winter months, on the southern slope of the great Cordillera, showing that it chooses for its winter retreat the moderate climate afforded by a region lying between the elevations of three and four thousand feet, where it winters in large numbers. Mr. Salvin noted their first arrival in Guatemala as early as the 24th of August. From that date the number rapidly increased until the first week in October, when it had become by far the most common species about Dueñas. It seemed also to be universally distributed, being equally common at Coban, at San Geronimo, and the plains of Salamá.The birds of this species make their appearance on our southern border late in March, and slowly move northward in their migrations, reaching Upper Georgia about the 10th of April, Pennsylvania from the last of April to about the middle of May, and farther north the last of May or the first of June. They nest in Massachusetts about the 10th of June, and are about thirteen days between the full number of eggs and the appearance of the young. They resent any approach to their nest, and will even make angry movements around the head of the intruder, uttering a sharp outcry. Other than this I have never heard them utter any note.Attempts to keep in confinement the Humming-Bird have been only partially successful. They have been known to live, at the best, only a few months, and soon perish, partly from imperfect nourishment and unsuitable food, and probably also from insufficient warmth.Numerous examinations of stomachs of these birds, taken in a natural state, demonstrate that minute insects constitute a very large proportion of their necessary food. These are swallowed whole. The young birds feed by putting their own bills down the throats of their parents, sucking probably a prepared sustenance of nectar and fragments of insects. They raise, I think, but one brood in a season. The young soon learn to take care of themselves, and appear to remain some time after their parents have left. They leave New England in September, and have all passed southward beyond our limits by November.A nest of this bird, from Dr. Gerhardt, of Georgia, measures 1.75 inches in its external diameter and 1.50 in height. Its cavity measures 1.00in depth and 1.25 inches in breadth. It is of very homogeneous construction, the material of which it is made being almost exclusively a substance of vegetable origin, resembling wool, coarse in fibre, but soft, warm, and yielding, of a deep buff color. This is strengthened, on the outside, by various small woody fibres; the whole, on the outer surface, entirely and compactly covered by a thatching of small lichens, a species ofParmelia.A nest obtained in Lynn,Mass., by Mr. George O. Welch, in June, 1860, was built on a horizontal branch of an apple-tree.It measures 1.50 inches in height, and 2.25 in its external diameter. The cavity is more shallow, measuring .70 of an inch in depth and 1.00 in diameter. It is equally homogeneous in its composition, being made of very similar materials. In this case, however, the soft woolly material of which it is woven is finer in fibre, softer and more silky, and of the purest white color. It is strengthened on the base with pieces of bark, and on the sides with fine vegetable fibres. The whole nest is beautifully covered with a compact coating of lichens, a species ofParmelia, but different from those of the Georgian nest.The fine silk-like substance of which the nest from Lynn is chiefly composed is supposed to be the soft down which appears on the young and unexpanded leaves of the red-oak, immediately before their full development. The buds of several of the oaks are fitted for a climate liable to severe winters, by being protected by separate downy scales surrounding each leaf. In Massachusetts the red-oak is an abundant tree, expands its leaves at a convenient season for the Humming-Bird, and these soft silky scales which have fulfilled their mission of protection to the embryo leaves are turned to a good account by our tiny and watchful architect. The species in Georgia evidently make use of similar materials from one of the southern oaks.The eggs measure .50 by .35 of an inch, and are of a pure dull white.Trochilus alexandri,Bourc.&Mulsant.BLACK-CHINNED HUMMING-BIRD.Trochilus alexandri,Bourcier & Mulsant,Ann. de la Soc. d’Agric. de Lyons, IX, 1846, 330.—Heermann,J. A. N. Sc. Phila.2d ser. II, 1853, 269.—Cassin,Ill. N. Am. Birds, I,V, 1854, 141,pl. xxii.—Gould,Mon.Trochilidæ,XIV, Sept.1857, plate.—Baird,Birds N. Am.1858, 133,pl. xliv, f.3.—Ib.M. B. II, Birds, 6,pl. v, f.3.—Heerm.X, S, 56.—Cooper,Orn. Cal.1, 1870, 353.Sp. Char.Very similar toTrochilus colubris. Tail slightly forked; the chin and upper part of the throat opaque velvety-black, without metallic reflections, which are confined to the posterior border of the gorget, and are violet, sometimes changing to steel blue or green, instead of coppery-red.Femalewithout the metallic scales; the tail-feathers tipped with white; the tail graduated, not emarginated; the innermost feather among the longest. Length of male, 3.30; wing, 1.70; tail, 126; bill, .75.Hab.Coast of California, southward, and east to the Wahsatch and Uintah Mountains, Utah.Illustration: Trochilus alexandri♂juv.Trochilus alexandri.4963♀The chief characters of this species are to be found in the violet, steel-blue, or steel-green reflections of the hinder part of the gorget, varying with the situation of the feathers and the specimen, as distinguished from the bright fiery or coppery red of the other. The chin and upper part of the throat extending beneath the eyes are opaque velvety or greenish black, without metallic lustre, while inT. colubrisit is only the extreme chin which is thus dull in appearance. The bill is about .10 of an inch longer, the tail less deeply forked, and tinged with green at the end.Illustration: Trochilus alexandriTrochilus alexandri.It is exceedingly difficult to distinguish the female of this species from that ofT. colubris. The size is rather larger, and the tail rounded, without any distinct emargination; the middle feathers being .15 of an inch longer than the lateral ones, instead of actually shorter. The color is much the same. The primaries are also much broader in the present species.In both species the outer tail-feathers, though broader than in the male, are quite acutely pointed on the terminal third, one side or the other of which is slightly concave, instead of being linear to near the end, and rounded without any concavity, as inSelasphorusandCalypte.Habits.This Humming-Bird, originally described as a Mexican species, is found from the highlands of that republic northward, not only to the southern borders of the western United States, but as far north as the 58th parallel. It was first discovered on the table-lands of Mexico, east of the city, by Signor Floresi, a distinguished naturalist, who devoted himself to the study of theTrochilidæof Mexico, but was first added to the fauna of North America by Dr. Heermann, who detected it, and obtained several specimens, within the burying-ground of Sacramento City,Cal.There several pairs remained during the period of incubation, and reared their young, finding both food and shelter among the flowering plants of that cemetery. He found several of their nests which were essentially similar to theT. colubris.Dr. Cooper met with this species along the Mohave River. He saw the first on the3dof June. He also found one of their nests built in a dark willow-thicket in the fork of a tree, eight feet from the ground. Those afterwards found near Santa Barbara were all built near the end of hanging branches of the sycamore, constructed of white down from willow catkins, agglutinated by the bird’s saliva, and thus fastened to the branch on which it rested. These were built in the latter part of April, and early in Maycontained two eggs, exactly resembling those of theT. colubris, and measuring .51 by .32 of an inch.Afterwards Mr. W. W. Holden obtained a specimen in the Colorado Valley, March 20.Mr. J. K. Lord, one of the English commissioners of the Northwestern Boundary Survey, met with this species near his camping-place on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. This was near a lake, by the margin of which, with other trees, grew a number of the black birch. On these trees he found a sweet gummy sap exuding plentifully from splits in the bark, and on this sap hosts of insects, large and small, were regaling themselves. As the sap was very sticky, numbers of the smaller winged insects were trapped in it. Busily employed in picking off and devouring these captive insects were several very sombre-looking Humming-Birds, poising themselves over the flowers, and nipping off, as with delicate forceps, the imprisoned insects. Upon securing one of these birds, he ascertained that it belonged to this species. This was pretty satisfactory proof that they are insect-eaters. Not only on this occasion, but many times afterwards, Mr. Lord saw this bird pick the insects from the tree; and the stomachs of those he killed, on being opened, were filled with various kinds of winged insects. He found this bird lingering around lakes, pools, and swamps, where these birches grow. They generally build in the birch or alder, selecting the fork of a branch high up.This species bears a very close resemblance in size, appearance, and markings, to the common eastern species, but is readily distinguishable by the difference in the color of the chin and the shape of the tail.In the spring of 1851, on a trip to Sonora, Mexico, Dr. Heermann found these birds abundant in the arid country around Guaymas, where amid the scanty vegetation they had constructed their nests in the month of April. He also afterwards found them on Dry Creek and the Cosumnes River.According to the observations of Mr. Ridgway, this species has quite an extended distribution in the West. He found it in varying abundance from the Sacramento Valley, in California, to the Wahsatch and Uintah Mountains in Utah.At Sacramento it was more abundant than theC. anna, nesting in the door-yards and in gardens, but particularly in the thick copses of small oaks in the outskirts of the city. In the Great Basin it associated with theSelasphorus rufusin the western portion, and withS. platycercusto the eastward, nesting everywhere, from the lowest valleys to a height of eight or nine thousand feet in the mountains.GenusCALYPTE,Gould.Calypte,Gould,Introd.Trochilidæ, 1861, 87. (Type,Ornysmya costæ.)Illustration: Calypte costæCalypte costæ.39399♂39400♀Illustration: Calypte costæCalypte costæ.Gen. Char.Bill longer than the head, straight or slightly curved; tail rather short. Outer primary not attenuated at end. Top of head, as well as throat, with metallic scale-like feathers, a decided and elongated ruff on each side the neck.The metallic feathers on top of head, the attenuated outer tail-feathers (except inC. helenæ), and the elongated ruff, distinguish the males of this genus very readily from any other in North America.Species.A.No rufous on tail-feathers; tail forked or emarginated.a.Lateral tail-feather as broad as the others; tail emarginated. Rump and middle tail-feathers blue.C. helenæ.Very small (wing, 1.15); metallic hood and ruff of the male purplish-red.Hab.Cuba.b.Lateral tail-feather abruptly narrower than the others, tail forked. Rump and middle tail-feathers green.C. anna.Large (wing, 2.00); outer tail-feather with a double curve, the end inclining outward. Metallic hood and ruff of the male purplish-red.Hab.California.C. costæ.Small (wing, 1.75); outer tail-feather with a simple curve, the end inclining inward. Metallic hood and ruff of the male violet-blue.Hab.Southern California, Arizona, and Mexico.B.Inner webs of tail-feathers mostly rufous, and outer webs edged with the same. Tail rounded. Lateral tail-feather abruptly narrower than the others.C. floresi.[115]Size ofC. anna. Hood and ruff of the male crimson.Hab.Table-lands of Mexico (Bolanos).Calypte anna,Gould.ANNA HUMMING-BIRD.Ornismya anna,Lesson,Oiseaux Mouches, 1830, (?pl. cxxiv.Trochilus anna,Jardine,Nat. Lib.Humming-Birds,I, 93,pl. vi.—Aud.Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 428,pl. ccccxxviii.—Ib.Birds America,IV, 1842, 188,pl. cclii.—Heerm.X,S, 56 (nest).Calliphlox anna,Gambel,Pr. A. N. Sc. Phil. III, 1846, 3.—Ib.Journ. 2d ser. I, 1847, 32.Trochilus (Atthis) anna,Reichenbach,Cab. Jour.Extraheft for 1853, 1854,App.12.Trochilus icterocephalus,Nuttall,Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 712 (male with forehead covered with yellow pollen).Atthis anna,Baird,Birds N. Am.1858, 137.Calypte annæ,Gould,Introd.Trochilidæ.—Cooper,Orn. Cal.1, 1870, 358.Illustration: Calypte annaCalypte anna.5501♂44953♀Sp. Char.Largest of North American species of Humming-Bird. Tail deeply forked; external feather narrow, linear. Top of the head, throat, and a moderate ruff, metallic crimson-red, with purple reflections. Rest of upper parts and a band across the breast green. Tail-feathers purplish-brown, darkest centrally. In the female the tail is slightly rounded, not emarginate; the scales of the head and throat are wanting. Tail barred with black, and tipped with white. Length, about 3.60; wing, 2.00; tail, 1.45.Hab.Mexico and coast region of California.Illustration: Calypte annaCalypte anna.TheC. floresiof the table-lands of Mexico resembles this species in every respect except the tail, which is somewhat like that ofSelasphorus rufus. The only North American species to which the male of this bird bears any resemblance is theA. costæ, which has the same metallic crown and other generic features. The latter, however, is much smaller; has the metallic reflections varied, chiefly violet, instead of nearly uniform purplish-red. The tail is much less deeply forked, the depth being only about .10 of an inch, instead of .32; the outer feather is much narrower. The females of the two, however, appear to be distinguishable only by their relative size. The absence of rufous, and the rounded, not graduated, tail always separates the female ofannafrom that ofSelasphorus rufus. The larger size is the chief distinction from the femaleCalypte costæ, while the size and less acutely pointed outer tail-feathers distinguish it from the femaleTrochilus colubris.We have never seen any specimens of this bird taken out of California, nor quoted of late years as occurring in Mexico, although stated by Gould to belong to the table-lands.Habits.This beautiful Humming-Bird is found from the high table-lands of Mexico throughout the western portions of that region, and throughall the coast country of California, from the slopes of the Sierra to the ocean. It was first taken in Mexico, and named in honor of Anna, Duchess of Rivoli. Mr. Nuttall was the first of our own naturalists to take it within our territory. He captured a female on its nest near Santa Barbara. This was described and figured by Audubon. The nest was attached to a small burnt twig ofPhotinia, and was small for the bird, being only 1.25 inches in breadth. It was somewhat conic in shape, made of the down of willow catkins, intermixed with their scales, and a few feathers, the latter forming the lining. It had none of the neatness of the nests of our common species, and was so rough on the outside that Mr. Nuttall waited several days in expectation of its being completed, and found the female sitting on two eggs when he caught her. Dr. Cooper, however, thinks this description applies much better to the nest ofT. alexandri, as all that he has seen of this species are twice as large, and covered externally with lichens, even when on branches not covered with these parasites.Dr. Gambel, in his paper published in 1846 on the birds of California, describes this as a very abundant species, numbers of which pass the entire winter in California. At such times he found them inhabiting sheltered hillsides and plains, where, at all seasons, a few bushy plants were in flower and furnished them with a scanty subsistence. In the latter part of February and during March they appeared in greater numbers. About the Pueblo the vineyards and the gardens were their favorite resort, where they build a delicate downy nest in small flowering bushes, or in a concealed spot about a fence. In April and May they may be seen in almost every garden.In the wilder portions of the country Dr. Gambel found them attaching their nest almost exclusively to low horizontal branches of theQuercus agrifolia, or evergreen oak, so common in that region. The nest he describes as small, only about an inch in depth, and 1.25 inches in diameter, formed in the most delicate manner of pappus and down of various plants matted into a soft felt, with spider’s-webs, which he frequently observed them collecting for the purpose, in the spring, along hedges and fence-rows. The base of the nest is formed of a few dried male aments of the oak, which, with the adjoining felt-like matting of pappus, are agglutinated and bound around the twig with a thick layer of spider’s-webs. The note of this bird, he states, is a slenderchep, frequently repeated. During the breeding-season they are very pugnacious, darting like meteors among the trees, uttering a loud and repeated twittering scold. They also have the habit of ascending to a considerable height, and then of descending with great rapidity, uttering at the same time a peculiar cry. The glutinous pollen of a tubular flower upon which these birds feed often adheres to the rigid feathers of the crown, and causes the bird to seem to have a bright yellow head. Nuttall, who never obtained the male of this species, but saw them in this condition, supposed this to be a yellow spot in the crown, and hence his supposed species oficterocephalus.In California, south of San Francisco, this species was also observed, by Dr. Cooper, to be a constant resident in mild winters, remaining among the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, at least fifteen hundred feet above the sea. There he has found them quite common in February. At that season flowers, and consequently insects, are more abundant than in the dry summers. The males are in fine plumage early in January.Dr. Cooper states that the nests of this species are built at various heights and positions, often in gardens, and sometimes on dead branches, without any attempt at concealment except the outside covering of lichens. He has found them made almost wholly of mosses, with only a lining of feathers and down of plants. In the neighborhood of San Francisco the young are sometimes hatched as early as the middle of March. This species appears to be more hardy than the others, being common along the coast border, though Dr. Cooper saw none near the summits of the Sierra Nevada.The notes of the male bird, he states, are like the sound produced by the filing of a saw or the whetting of a scythe. They enter familiarly into the city of San Francisco, and even venture into rooms, attracted by the flowers. They are bold and confident, approach to within a few feet of man, but at the least motion disappear like a flash.Dr. Heermann found this species quite common at San Diego in March, and in its full spring plumage. In September he procured a number of specimens on a small island in the Cosumnes River. While on the wing in pursuit of insects, or after alighting on a small branch, he heard them utter a very weak twitter, continued for a minute or more.A nest of this species from Petaluma is about 1.50 inches in diameter, and 1.00 in height, and bears no resemblance to the one described by Nuttall. It is made of a commingling of mosses and vegetable down, covered externally with a fine yellow lichen. The eggs measure .60 by .40 of an inch, and are about ten per cent larger than those of any other North American Humming-Bird.Another nest of this Humming-Bird, obtained in Petaluma,Cal., by Mr. Emanuel Samuels, measures 1.75 inches in diameter, and about 1.00 in height. Its cavity is one inch in diameter at the rim, and half an inch in depth. Its lining is composed of such soft materials that its limits are not well defined. The base of the nest is made of feathers, mosses, and lichens of several varieties of the smaller kinds. The periphery and rim of the nest are of nearly the same materials. The inner fabric consists of a mass of a dirty-white vegetable wool, with a lining of the very finest and softest of feathers, intermingled with down from the seeds of some species of silkweed. The predominant lichen in the base and sides of the nest is theRamalina menziesii, which is peculiar to California. The nest contained a single egg.Calypte costæ,Gould.COSTA’S HUMMING-BIRD; RUFFED HUMMER.Ornismya costæ,Bourcier,Rev. Zoöl.Oct.1839, 294 (Lower California).—Ib.Ann. Sc. Phys. et d’Hist. Nat. de Lyon,1840, 225,tab. ii.—Prevost & Des Murs, Voyage de la Venus,Zool. I, 1855, 194, Atlas,tab. ii, f.1, 2.Selasphorus costæ,Bon.Conspectus Avium,I, 1850, 82.Atthis costæ,Reichenbach,Cab. Jour. für Orn.Extraheft, 1853, 1854.—Baird,Birds N. Am.1858, 138,pl. xix.—Kennerly,P. R. R. x, b, 36,pl. xix.Calypte costæ,Gould,Mon.Humming-Birds.—Cooper,Orn. Cal.1, 1870, 360.Sp. Char.Tail very slightly emarginated and rounded; exterior feather very narrow, and linear. A very long ruff on each side of the throat. Head above and below, with the ruff, covered with metallic red, purple and violet (sometimes steel green). Remaining upper parts and sides of the body green. Throat under and between the ruffs, side of head behind the eye, anal region, and under tail-coverts whitish. Female with the tail rounded, scarcely emarginate; barred with black, and tipped with white. The metallic colors of the head wanting. Length, 3.20; wing, 1.75; tail, 1.10; bill, .68.Hab.Mexico, Southern California, and the Colorado Basin, Monterey (Neboux). Arizona (Coues,P. A. N. S.1866, 57).Specimens vary considerably in the color of the ruff, which, however, is only occasionally green; violet being the prevailing shade. The length of this appendage varies considerably.The female of this species differs much from the male in the absence of the metallic scales on the head and throat. It has a close resemblance to the femaleT. colubris, although the bill is smaller and narrower. The tail-feathers are narrower, more linear, and less acutely pointed at the tip. The black on the outer tail-feathers, instead of extending very nearly to the base, is confined to the terminal half, the basal portion being green. All the tail-feathers are terminated by white, although that on the fourth and fifth is very narrow. InT. colubristhis color is confined to the three outer ones. The much smaller size will alone distinguish it from the female ofC. anna.Habits.This species is a Mexican bird, first discovered by Signor Floresi among the valleys of the Sierra Madre, in that country, throughout the western portions of which it is said to be an abundant species, as well as along our southern borders, whence it extends into New Mexico, the Colorado Valley, Southern California, and Arizona. It was first described by Bourcier in 1839, and named in honor of the Marquis de Costa, of Chambery.Mr. Xantus found this species exceedingly abundant at CapeSt.Lucas. It has also been found on the eastern coast of the Gulf of California, at Guaymas, and Mazatlan, and also on the table-lands of Mexico.It was first added to our fauna by Dr. Kennerly, who obtained specimens near Bill Williams Fork, in New Mexico, February 9, 1854. At that early season a few flowers had already expanded beneath the genial rays of the sun, and around them the party rarely failed to find these beautiful birds.They had already paired, and were constantly to be seen hovering over the flowers. Their notes consisted of a rapid chirping sound. As Dr. Kennerly’s party approached the coast of California, where the valleys abounded with flowers of every hue, these birds continued flitting before them in great numbers. Dr. Coues states that this species was not taken at Fort Whipple, though abundantly distributed throughout the Territory, particularly in its southern and southwestern portions, and found about fifty miles south of Prescott. It is presumed to winter within the Territory, and also within the valley of the Colorado. Dr. Cooper did not observe any at Fort Mohave until March 5, and they were not numerous afterwards. At San Diego, in 1862, when the spring was unusually backward, he saw none before April 22, and he has since met with them as far north as San Francisco, where, however, they are rare. The notes uttered by the male he compares to the highest and sharpest note that can be drawn from a violin. Nothing more is known as to their distinctive specific peculiarities.GenusSELASPHORUS,Swainson.Selasphorus,Swainson,F. B. A. II, 1831, 324. (Type,Trochilus rufus.)Illustration: Selasphorus rufusSelasphorus rufus.2896♂As already stated, the characters ofSelasphorus, as distinguished fromCalypte(to which it is most nearly related, through theC. floresi), consist in the lack of metallic feathers on the crown, and in the attenuation of the outer primary, and the pointed and acuminate cuneate (instead of forked) tail.As distinguished fromTrochilus, the quills diminish gradually, instead of showing an abrupt transition between the fourth and fifth, so characteristic of the two species ofTrochilus, as restricted. The very attenuated tip of the outer primary is a character entirely peculiar toSelasphorus.The two North American species, though strictly congeneric, differ from each other considerably in details of form, as well as in color. They may be distinguished from each other and from their two Central American allies as follows:—Species and Varieties.A.Feathers of the metallic gorget not elongated laterally.S. platycercus.Above continuous metallic green; tail-feathers merely edged with rufous. Gorget purplish-red.Wing, 1.90; tail, 1.40; bill (from forehead), .66. Gorget rich solferino-purple, the feathers grayish-white beneath the surface. Outer primary with its attenuated tip turned outward.Hab.Rocky Mountains and Middle Province of United States, south to Guatemala …var.platycercus.Wing, 1.65; tail, 1.20; bill, .41. Gorget dull velvety-crimson, the feathers ochraceous beneath the surface. Outer primary apparently with its attenuated tip curved inward.Hab.Costa Rica …var.flammula.[116]B.Feathers of the metallic gorget much elongated laterally.S. rufus.Above chiefly rufous, overlaid by green (except inS. scintilla, which is almost wholly green above); tail-feathers rufous with a shaft-streak of dusky. Gorget fiery red. Attenuated tip of outer primary curved inwards.Wing, 1.60; tail, 1.30; bill, .65. Rufous prevailing above; gorget very brilliant.Hab.Western Province of North America, from East Humboldt Mountains to the Pacific. North to Sitka, south to Mirador …var.rufus.Wing, 1.35; tail, 1.00 to 1.10; bill, .42. Continuous green above; gorget not brilliant, but with a dusty appearance. Tail less graduated.Hab.Costa Rica and Chiriqui …var.scintilla.[117]Selasphorus rufus,Swainson.RUFOUS-BACKED HUMMING-BIRD.Trochilus rufus,Gmelin,Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 497.—Aud.Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 555,pl. ccclxxii.Selasphorus rufus,Swainson,F.-Bor. Am. II, 1831, 324.—Aud.BirdsAm. IV, 1842, 200,pl. ccliv.—Baird,Birds N. Am.1858, 134.—Cooper & Suckley, 164.—Dall & Bannister,Trans. Chicago Acad. I, 1869, 275 (Alaska).—Finsch,Abh. Nat. III, 1872, 29 (Alaska).—Cooper,Orn. Cal.1, 1870, 355.Trochilus collaris,Lath.(Bonaparte).Trochilus sitkensis,Rathke(Bonaparte).Ornysmia sasin,Lesson(Bonaparte).Sp. Char.Tail strongly cuneate and wedge-shaped. Upper parts, lower tail-coverts, and breast cinnamon. A trace of metallic green on the crown, which sometimes extends over the back, never on the belly. Throat coppery red, with a well-developed ruff of the same; below this a white collar. Tail-feathers cinnamon, edged or streaked at the end with purplish-brown.Femalewith the rufous of the back covered or replaced with green; less cinnamon on the breast. Traces only of metallic feathers on the throat. Tail rufous, banded with black and tipped with white; middle feathers glossed with green at the end. Tail still cuneate. Length of male, 3.50; wing, 1.55; tail, 1.30.Hab.West coast of North America, and across from Gulf of California to the Upper Rio Grande Valley, and along the table-lands of Mexico, south; in Middle Province east to East Humboldt Mountains.Specimens from the table-lands of Mexico are smaller than those from Oregon, and have yellower, less ruby throats.Illustration: Selasphorus rufusSelasphorus rufus.Habits.This brilliant species has an extended distribution throughout the western part of North America, being found from the valley of the Rio Grande to the Pacific, and from Mexico to Sitka. It was first discovered near Nootka Sound, by that distinguished navigator, Captain Cook, and described by Latham, and has been met with as far to the south as Real del Monte, on the table-lands of Mexico, by Mr. Taylor, whose specimens were described by Mr. Swainson.Dr. Coues found it very abundant at Arizona, near Fort Whipple, as it is also along the whole slope of the Rocky Mountains. It is a summer resident in that Territory, and breeds there abundantly, arriving at Fort Whipple April 10, and remaining until the middle of September, being found in all situations, particularly meadows, open copses, ravines, etc., where flowers are most abundant.Mr. Dall gives them as common summer residents at Sitka. Bischoff obtained sixteen specimens. Dr. Suckley says they are very abundant in the western provinces of both Oregon and Washington Territory, and in Vancouver Island. They appear to be very hardy, and are one of the earliest of the migratory birds to arrive in spring. At Fort Steilacoom, latitude 47°, they appeared April 10. They are supposed to commence their southern migrations from that region in September,—a move induced by the scarcity of flowers and lack of means of captivating insects, rather than by cold. In Washington Territory their incubation commences about the 10th of May, and is made evident by the fierce and angry battles continually occurring between the male birds, in which they tilt at each other at full speed, at the same time keeping up a loud and vociferous squeaking and buzzing.A nest with eggs, of this species, obtained by Dr. Cooper near Fort Slaughter, May 23, was found in the forked branch of a snowberry-bush. It was composed principally of fine green moss, lined internally with the delicate floss of the cottonwood, and externally bordered most artistically with rock lichens. The female was on the nest, and allowed so near an approach as almost to admit of being grasped by the hand. The nest was 2.00 inches in diameter and 1.50 in height. The eggs measured .45 by .33 of an inch, and were white, as in all the species.Dr. Cooper states that the appearance of this species at the Straits of Fuca is coincident with the blossoming of the red-flowering currant, which begins to bloom on the Columbia March 10. The male of this species has a remarkable habit, when a stranger or a wild animal approaches its nest, of rising to a great height in the air, and of then darting down perpendicularlyupon the intruder, producing a hollow rushing sound, like that of the Night-Hawk, but of a much sharper tone. These sounds are produced by the wings. In July, when flowers are more abundant among the mountain summits, they leave the lower country. Dr. Cooper found them abundant in August at an elevation of nearly six thousand feet, and where ice was formed at night in their camp.In California, Dr. Cooper has not found any of this species remaining in winter, even at San Diego, where, however, he has known them to arrive as early as the 5th of February. He also saw several on the22dof the same month feeding among the flowers of the evergreen gooseberry. By the first of April they were swarming about San Diego. Their young are hatched before the middle of June. When perching, this species is said to utter a shrill wiry call, like the highest note of a violin. They also produce a curious kind of bleating sound. They are among the most noisy and lively of their race, are very quarrelsome, chase each other away from favorite flowers, rising into the air until out of sight, chirping as they go in the most excited manner.Mr. Lord noticed the arrival of this species at Little Spokan River, in latitude 49°, early in May. He found their nests usually in low shrubs and close to rippling streams. The females of this and other species are said to arrive about a week later than the males.Dr. Heermann for several successive seasons found many pairs of these birds breeding in the vicinity of San Francisco.Mr. Nuttall compares the appearance of the male birds of this species, when he approached too near their nests, to an angry coal of brilliant fire, as they darted upon him, passing within a few inches of his face as they returned again and again to the attack, making a sound as of a breaking twig.Dr. Woodhouse, who found this bird abundant in New Mexico, particularly in the vicinity of Santa Fé, speaks of the great noise they make for so small a bird, and of their quarrelsome and pugnacious disposition.Mr. R. Brown, in his synopsis of the birds of Vancouver Island, notes the appearance of this species, from the end of March to the beginning of May, according to the state of the season. Its nest was built on the tips of low bushes, or the under branches of trees. This was the only species of Humming-Bird seen west of the Cascade Mountains.The Rufous Hummer was first noticed by Mr. Ridgway in the valley of the Truckee River, in August, where it was the only species shot, and was extremely abundant among the sunflowers which ornament the meadows. In May of the succeeding year, when the same locality was again visited, not one of this species was to be found, its place being apparently supplied by theT. alexandri, which was quite common, and breeding. Eastward it was met with as far as the East Humboldt Mountains, where, however, only a single pair was seen, and one of them shot, in September.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.—Baird,Birds N. Am.1858, 135,pl. xliii, figs. 1 and 2.—Cooper,Pr. Cal. Ac.1868 (Lake Tahoe).—Ib.Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 357.Ornismia tricolor,Lesson, Colibris, 125 (no date)pl. xiv(Brazil).—Ib.Trochilide. 1831, 156,pl. lx(Mexico).—Jardine,Nat. Lib. II, 77,pl. xiii.Ornismya montana,Lesson,Trochilid.1831, 161,pl. lxiii, adult, and 163;pl. lxiv, young (Mexico).
Illustration: Color plate 47 detail 99.Stellula calliope.♂Cal., 17992.
9.Stellula calliope.♂Cal., 17992.
9.Stellula calliope.♂Cal., 17992.
The red of the throat appears paler in some Mexican and Guatemalanskins; others, however, are not distinguishable from the northern specimens.
Habits.This species is found throughout eastern North America, as far west as the Missouri Valley, and breeds from Florida and the valley of the Rio Grande to high northern latitudes. Richardson states that it ranges at least to the 57th parallel, and probably even farther north. He obtained specimens on the plains of the Saskatchewan, and Mr. Drummond found one of its nests near the source of the Elk River. Mr. Dresser found this bird breeding in Southwestern Texas, and also resident there during the winter months, and I have received their nests and eggs from Florida and Georgia. It was found by Mr. Skinner to be abundant in Guatemala during the winter months, on the southern slope of the great Cordillera, showing that it chooses for its winter retreat the moderate climate afforded by a region lying between the elevations of three and four thousand feet, where it winters in large numbers. Mr. Salvin noted their first arrival in Guatemala as early as the 24th of August. From that date the number rapidly increased until the first week in October, when it had become by far the most common species about Dueñas. It seemed also to be universally distributed, being equally common at Coban, at San Geronimo, and the plains of Salamá.
The birds of this species make their appearance on our southern border late in March, and slowly move northward in their migrations, reaching Upper Georgia about the 10th of April, Pennsylvania from the last of April to about the middle of May, and farther north the last of May or the first of June. They nest in Massachusetts about the 10th of June, and are about thirteen days between the full number of eggs and the appearance of the young. They resent any approach to their nest, and will even make angry movements around the head of the intruder, uttering a sharp outcry. Other than this I have never heard them utter any note.
Attempts to keep in confinement the Humming-Bird have been only partially successful. They have been known to live, at the best, only a few months, and soon perish, partly from imperfect nourishment and unsuitable food, and probably also from insufficient warmth.
Numerous examinations of stomachs of these birds, taken in a natural state, demonstrate that minute insects constitute a very large proportion of their necessary food. These are swallowed whole. The young birds feed by putting their own bills down the throats of their parents, sucking probably a prepared sustenance of nectar and fragments of insects. They raise, I think, but one brood in a season. The young soon learn to take care of themselves, and appear to remain some time after their parents have left. They leave New England in September, and have all passed southward beyond our limits by November.
A nest of this bird, from Dr. Gerhardt, of Georgia, measures 1.75 inches in its external diameter and 1.50 in height. Its cavity measures 1.00in depth and 1.25 inches in breadth. It is of very homogeneous construction, the material of which it is made being almost exclusively a substance of vegetable origin, resembling wool, coarse in fibre, but soft, warm, and yielding, of a deep buff color. This is strengthened, on the outside, by various small woody fibres; the whole, on the outer surface, entirely and compactly covered by a thatching of small lichens, a species ofParmelia.
A nest obtained in Lynn,Mass., by Mr. George O. Welch, in June, 1860, was built on a horizontal branch of an apple-tree.It measures 1.50 inches in height, and 2.25 in its external diameter. The cavity is more shallow, measuring .70 of an inch in depth and 1.00 in diameter. It is equally homogeneous in its composition, being made of very similar materials. In this case, however, the soft woolly material of which it is woven is finer in fibre, softer and more silky, and of the purest white color. It is strengthened on the base with pieces of bark, and on the sides with fine vegetable fibres. The whole nest is beautifully covered with a compact coating of lichens, a species ofParmelia, but different from those of the Georgian nest.
The fine silk-like substance of which the nest from Lynn is chiefly composed is supposed to be the soft down which appears on the young and unexpanded leaves of the red-oak, immediately before their full development. The buds of several of the oaks are fitted for a climate liable to severe winters, by being protected by separate downy scales surrounding each leaf. In Massachusetts the red-oak is an abundant tree, expands its leaves at a convenient season for the Humming-Bird, and these soft silky scales which have fulfilled their mission of protection to the embryo leaves are turned to a good account by our tiny and watchful architect. The species in Georgia evidently make use of similar materials from one of the southern oaks.
The eggs measure .50 by .35 of an inch, and are of a pure dull white.
Trochilus alexandri,Bourc.&Mulsant.
BLACK-CHINNED HUMMING-BIRD.
Trochilus alexandri,Bourcier & Mulsant,Ann. de la Soc. d’Agric. de Lyons, IX, 1846, 330.—Heermann,J. A. N. Sc. Phila.2d ser. II, 1853, 269.—Cassin,Ill. N. Am. Birds, I,V, 1854, 141,pl. xxii.—Gould,Mon.Trochilidæ,XIV, Sept.1857, plate.—Baird,Birds N. Am.1858, 133,pl. xliv, f.3.—Ib.M. B. II, Birds, 6,pl. v, f.3.—Heerm.X, S, 56.—Cooper,Orn. Cal.1, 1870, 353.
Sp. Char.Very similar toTrochilus colubris. Tail slightly forked; the chin and upper part of the throat opaque velvety-black, without metallic reflections, which are confined to the posterior border of the gorget, and are violet, sometimes changing to steel blue or green, instead of coppery-red.Femalewithout the metallic scales; the tail-feathers tipped with white; the tail graduated, not emarginated; the innermost feather among the longest. Length of male, 3.30; wing, 1.70; tail, 126; bill, .75.
Hab.Coast of California, southward, and east to the Wahsatch and Uintah Mountains, Utah.
Illustration: Trochilus alexandri♂juv.Trochilus alexandri.4963♀
♂juv.Trochilus alexandri.4963♀
The chief characters of this species are to be found in the violet, steel-blue, or steel-green reflections of the hinder part of the gorget, varying with the situation of the feathers and the specimen, as distinguished from the bright fiery or coppery red of the other. The chin and upper part of the throat extending beneath the eyes are opaque velvety or greenish black, without metallic lustre, while inT. colubrisit is only the extreme chin which is thus dull in appearance. The bill is about .10 of an inch longer, the tail less deeply forked, and tinged with green at the end.
Illustration: Trochilus alexandriTrochilus alexandri.
Trochilus alexandri.
It is exceedingly difficult to distinguish the female of this species from that ofT. colubris. The size is rather larger, and the tail rounded, without any distinct emargination; the middle feathers being .15 of an inch longer than the lateral ones, instead of actually shorter. The color is much the same. The primaries are also much broader in the present species.
In both species the outer tail-feathers, though broader than in the male, are quite acutely pointed on the terminal third, one side or the other of which is slightly concave, instead of being linear to near the end, and rounded without any concavity, as inSelasphorusandCalypte.
Habits.This Humming-Bird, originally described as a Mexican species, is found from the highlands of that republic northward, not only to the southern borders of the western United States, but as far north as the 58th parallel. It was first discovered on the table-lands of Mexico, east of the city, by Signor Floresi, a distinguished naturalist, who devoted himself to the study of theTrochilidæof Mexico, but was first added to the fauna of North America by Dr. Heermann, who detected it, and obtained several specimens, within the burying-ground of Sacramento City,Cal.There several pairs remained during the period of incubation, and reared their young, finding both food and shelter among the flowering plants of that cemetery. He found several of their nests which were essentially similar to theT. colubris.
Dr. Cooper met with this species along the Mohave River. He saw the first on the3dof June. He also found one of their nests built in a dark willow-thicket in the fork of a tree, eight feet from the ground. Those afterwards found near Santa Barbara were all built near the end of hanging branches of the sycamore, constructed of white down from willow catkins, agglutinated by the bird’s saliva, and thus fastened to the branch on which it rested. These were built in the latter part of April, and early in Maycontained two eggs, exactly resembling those of theT. colubris, and measuring .51 by .32 of an inch.
Afterwards Mr. W. W. Holden obtained a specimen in the Colorado Valley, March 20.
Mr. J. K. Lord, one of the English commissioners of the Northwestern Boundary Survey, met with this species near his camping-place on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. This was near a lake, by the margin of which, with other trees, grew a number of the black birch. On these trees he found a sweet gummy sap exuding plentifully from splits in the bark, and on this sap hosts of insects, large and small, were regaling themselves. As the sap was very sticky, numbers of the smaller winged insects were trapped in it. Busily employed in picking off and devouring these captive insects were several very sombre-looking Humming-Birds, poising themselves over the flowers, and nipping off, as with delicate forceps, the imprisoned insects. Upon securing one of these birds, he ascertained that it belonged to this species. This was pretty satisfactory proof that they are insect-eaters. Not only on this occasion, but many times afterwards, Mr. Lord saw this bird pick the insects from the tree; and the stomachs of those he killed, on being opened, were filled with various kinds of winged insects. He found this bird lingering around lakes, pools, and swamps, where these birches grow. They generally build in the birch or alder, selecting the fork of a branch high up.
This species bears a very close resemblance in size, appearance, and markings, to the common eastern species, but is readily distinguishable by the difference in the color of the chin and the shape of the tail.
In the spring of 1851, on a trip to Sonora, Mexico, Dr. Heermann found these birds abundant in the arid country around Guaymas, where amid the scanty vegetation they had constructed their nests in the month of April. He also afterwards found them on Dry Creek and the Cosumnes River.
According to the observations of Mr. Ridgway, this species has quite an extended distribution in the West. He found it in varying abundance from the Sacramento Valley, in California, to the Wahsatch and Uintah Mountains in Utah.
At Sacramento it was more abundant than theC. anna, nesting in the door-yards and in gardens, but particularly in the thick copses of small oaks in the outskirts of the city. In the Great Basin it associated with theSelasphorus rufusin the western portion, and withS. platycercusto the eastward, nesting everywhere, from the lowest valleys to a height of eight or nine thousand feet in the mountains.
GenusCALYPTE,Gould.
Calypte,Gould,Introd.Trochilidæ, 1861, 87. (Type,Ornysmya costæ.)
Illustration: Calypte costæCalypte costæ.39399♂39400♀
Calypte costæ.39399♂39400♀
Illustration: Calypte costæCalypte costæ.
Calypte costæ.
Gen. Char.Bill longer than the head, straight or slightly curved; tail rather short. Outer primary not attenuated at end. Top of head, as well as throat, with metallic scale-like feathers, a decided and elongated ruff on each side the neck.
The metallic feathers on top of head, the attenuated outer tail-feathers (except inC. helenæ), and the elongated ruff, distinguish the males of this genus very readily from any other in North America.
Species.
A.No rufous on tail-feathers; tail forked or emarginated.
a.Lateral tail-feather as broad as the others; tail emarginated. Rump and middle tail-feathers blue.
C. helenæ.Very small (wing, 1.15); metallic hood and ruff of the male purplish-red.Hab.Cuba.
b.Lateral tail-feather abruptly narrower than the others, tail forked. Rump and middle tail-feathers green.
C. anna.Large (wing, 2.00); outer tail-feather with a double curve, the end inclining outward. Metallic hood and ruff of the male purplish-red.Hab.California.
C. costæ.Small (wing, 1.75); outer tail-feather with a simple curve, the end inclining inward. Metallic hood and ruff of the male violet-blue.Hab.Southern California, Arizona, and Mexico.
B.Inner webs of tail-feathers mostly rufous, and outer webs edged with the same. Tail rounded. Lateral tail-feather abruptly narrower than the others.
C. floresi.[115]Size ofC. anna. Hood and ruff of the male crimson.Hab.Table-lands of Mexico (Bolanos).
Calypte anna,Gould.
ANNA HUMMING-BIRD.
Ornismya anna,Lesson,Oiseaux Mouches, 1830, (?pl. cxxiv.Trochilus anna,Jardine,Nat. Lib.Humming-Birds,I, 93,pl. vi.—Aud.Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 428,pl. ccccxxviii.—Ib.Birds America,IV, 1842, 188,pl. cclii.—Heerm.X,S, 56 (nest).Calliphlox anna,Gambel,Pr. A. N. Sc. Phil. III, 1846, 3.—Ib.Journ. 2d ser. I, 1847, 32.Trochilus (Atthis) anna,Reichenbach,Cab. Jour.Extraheft for 1853, 1854,App.12.Trochilus icterocephalus,Nuttall,Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 712 (male with forehead covered with yellow pollen).Atthis anna,Baird,Birds N. Am.1858, 137.Calypte annæ,Gould,Introd.Trochilidæ.—Cooper,Orn. Cal.1, 1870, 358.
Illustration: Calypte annaCalypte anna.5501♂44953♀
Calypte anna.5501♂44953♀
Sp. Char.Largest of North American species of Humming-Bird. Tail deeply forked; external feather narrow, linear. Top of the head, throat, and a moderate ruff, metallic crimson-red, with purple reflections. Rest of upper parts and a band across the breast green. Tail-feathers purplish-brown, darkest centrally. In the female the tail is slightly rounded, not emarginate; the scales of the head and throat are wanting. Tail barred with black, and tipped with white. Length, about 3.60; wing, 2.00; tail, 1.45.
Hab.Mexico and coast region of California.
Illustration: Calypte annaCalypte anna.
Calypte anna.
TheC. floresiof the table-lands of Mexico resembles this species in every respect except the tail, which is somewhat like that ofSelasphorus rufus. The only North American species to which the male of this bird bears any resemblance is theA. costæ, which has the same metallic crown and other generic features. The latter, however, is much smaller; has the metallic reflections varied, chiefly violet, instead of nearly uniform purplish-red. The tail is much less deeply forked, the depth being only about .10 of an inch, instead of .32; the outer feather is much narrower. The females of the two, however, appear to be distinguishable only by their relative size. The absence of rufous, and the rounded, not graduated, tail always separates the female ofannafrom that ofSelasphorus rufus. The larger size is the chief distinction from the femaleCalypte costæ, while the size and less acutely pointed outer tail-feathers distinguish it from the femaleTrochilus colubris.
We have never seen any specimens of this bird taken out of California, nor quoted of late years as occurring in Mexico, although stated by Gould to belong to the table-lands.
Habits.This beautiful Humming-Bird is found from the high table-lands of Mexico throughout the western portions of that region, and throughall the coast country of California, from the slopes of the Sierra to the ocean. It was first taken in Mexico, and named in honor of Anna, Duchess of Rivoli. Mr. Nuttall was the first of our own naturalists to take it within our territory. He captured a female on its nest near Santa Barbara. This was described and figured by Audubon. The nest was attached to a small burnt twig ofPhotinia, and was small for the bird, being only 1.25 inches in breadth. It was somewhat conic in shape, made of the down of willow catkins, intermixed with their scales, and a few feathers, the latter forming the lining. It had none of the neatness of the nests of our common species, and was so rough on the outside that Mr. Nuttall waited several days in expectation of its being completed, and found the female sitting on two eggs when he caught her. Dr. Cooper, however, thinks this description applies much better to the nest ofT. alexandri, as all that he has seen of this species are twice as large, and covered externally with lichens, even when on branches not covered with these parasites.
Dr. Gambel, in his paper published in 1846 on the birds of California, describes this as a very abundant species, numbers of which pass the entire winter in California. At such times he found them inhabiting sheltered hillsides and plains, where, at all seasons, a few bushy plants were in flower and furnished them with a scanty subsistence. In the latter part of February and during March they appeared in greater numbers. About the Pueblo the vineyards and the gardens were their favorite resort, where they build a delicate downy nest in small flowering bushes, or in a concealed spot about a fence. In April and May they may be seen in almost every garden.
In the wilder portions of the country Dr. Gambel found them attaching their nest almost exclusively to low horizontal branches of theQuercus agrifolia, or evergreen oak, so common in that region. The nest he describes as small, only about an inch in depth, and 1.25 inches in diameter, formed in the most delicate manner of pappus and down of various plants matted into a soft felt, with spider’s-webs, which he frequently observed them collecting for the purpose, in the spring, along hedges and fence-rows. The base of the nest is formed of a few dried male aments of the oak, which, with the adjoining felt-like matting of pappus, are agglutinated and bound around the twig with a thick layer of spider’s-webs. The note of this bird, he states, is a slenderchep, frequently repeated. During the breeding-season they are very pugnacious, darting like meteors among the trees, uttering a loud and repeated twittering scold. They also have the habit of ascending to a considerable height, and then of descending with great rapidity, uttering at the same time a peculiar cry. The glutinous pollen of a tubular flower upon which these birds feed often adheres to the rigid feathers of the crown, and causes the bird to seem to have a bright yellow head. Nuttall, who never obtained the male of this species, but saw them in this condition, supposed this to be a yellow spot in the crown, and hence his supposed species oficterocephalus.
In California, south of San Francisco, this species was also observed, by Dr. Cooper, to be a constant resident in mild winters, remaining among the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, at least fifteen hundred feet above the sea. There he has found them quite common in February. At that season flowers, and consequently insects, are more abundant than in the dry summers. The males are in fine plumage early in January.
Dr. Cooper states that the nests of this species are built at various heights and positions, often in gardens, and sometimes on dead branches, without any attempt at concealment except the outside covering of lichens. He has found them made almost wholly of mosses, with only a lining of feathers and down of plants. In the neighborhood of San Francisco the young are sometimes hatched as early as the middle of March. This species appears to be more hardy than the others, being common along the coast border, though Dr. Cooper saw none near the summits of the Sierra Nevada.
The notes of the male bird, he states, are like the sound produced by the filing of a saw or the whetting of a scythe. They enter familiarly into the city of San Francisco, and even venture into rooms, attracted by the flowers. They are bold and confident, approach to within a few feet of man, but at the least motion disappear like a flash.
Dr. Heermann found this species quite common at San Diego in March, and in its full spring plumage. In September he procured a number of specimens on a small island in the Cosumnes River. While on the wing in pursuit of insects, or after alighting on a small branch, he heard them utter a very weak twitter, continued for a minute or more.
A nest of this species from Petaluma is about 1.50 inches in diameter, and 1.00 in height, and bears no resemblance to the one described by Nuttall. It is made of a commingling of mosses and vegetable down, covered externally with a fine yellow lichen. The eggs measure .60 by .40 of an inch, and are about ten per cent larger than those of any other North American Humming-Bird.
Another nest of this Humming-Bird, obtained in Petaluma,Cal., by Mr. Emanuel Samuels, measures 1.75 inches in diameter, and about 1.00 in height. Its cavity is one inch in diameter at the rim, and half an inch in depth. Its lining is composed of such soft materials that its limits are not well defined. The base of the nest is made of feathers, mosses, and lichens of several varieties of the smaller kinds. The periphery and rim of the nest are of nearly the same materials. The inner fabric consists of a mass of a dirty-white vegetable wool, with a lining of the very finest and softest of feathers, intermingled with down from the seeds of some species of silkweed. The predominant lichen in the base and sides of the nest is theRamalina menziesii, which is peculiar to California. The nest contained a single egg.
Calypte costæ,Gould.
COSTA’S HUMMING-BIRD; RUFFED HUMMER.
Ornismya costæ,Bourcier,Rev. Zoöl.Oct.1839, 294 (Lower California).—Ib.Ann. Sc. Phys. et d’Hist. Nat. de Lyon,1840, 225,tab. ii.—Prevost & Des Murs, Voyage de la Venus,Zool. I, 1855, 194, Atlas,tab. ii, f.1, 2.Selasphorus costæ,Bon.Conspectus Avium,I, 1850, 82.Atthis costæ,Reichenbach,Cab. Jour. für Orn.Extraheft, 1853, 1854.—Baird,Birds N. Am.1858, 138,pl. xix.—Kennerly,P. R. R. x, b, 36,pl. xix.Calypte costæ,Gould,Mon.Humming-Birds.—Cooper,Orn. Cal.1, 1870, 360.
Sp. Char.Tail very slightly emarginated and rounded; exterior feather very narrow, and linear. A very long ruff on each side of the throat. Head above and below, with the ruff, covered with metallic red, purple and violet (sometimes steel green). Remaining upper parts and sides of the body green. Throat under and between the ruffs, side of head behind the eye, anal region, and under tail-coverts whitish. Female with the tail rounded, scarcely emarginate; barred with black, and tipped with white. The metallic colors of the head wanting. Length, 3.20; wing, 1.75; tail, 1.10; bill, .68.
Hab.Mexico, Southern California, and the Colorado Basin, Monterey (Neboux). Arizona (Coues,P. A. N. S.1866, 57).
Specimens vary considerably in the color of the ruff, which, however, is only occasionally green; violet being the prevailing shade. The length of this appendage varies considerably.
The female of this species differs much from the male in the absence of the metallic scales on the head and throat. It has a close resemblance to the femaleT. colubris, although the bill is smaller and narrower. The tail-feathers are narrower, more linear, and less acutely pointed at the tip. The black on the outer tail-feathers, instead of extending very nearly to the base, is confined to the terminal half, the basal portion being green. All the tail-feathers are terminated by white, although that on the fourth and fifth is very narrow. InT. colubristhis color is confined to the three outer ones. The much smaller size will alone distinguish it from the female ofC. anna.
Habits.This species is a Mexican bird, first discovered by Signor Floresi among the valleys of the Sierra Madre, in that country, throughout the western portions of which it is said to be an abundant species, as well as along our southern borders, whence it extends into New Mexico, the Colorado Valley, Southern California, and Arizona. It was first described by Bourcier in 1839, and named in honor of the Marquis de Costa, of Chambery.
Mr. Xantus found this species exceedingly abundant at CapeSt.Lucas. It has also been found on the eastern coast of the Gulf of California, at Guaymas, and Mazatlan, and also on the table-lands of Mexico.
It was first added to our fauna by Dr. Kennerly, who obtained specimens near Bill Williams Fork, in New Mexico, February 9, 1854. At that early season a few flowers had already expanded beneath the genial rays of the sun, and around them the party rarely failed to find these beautiful birds.They had already paired, and were constantly to be seen hovering over the flowers. Their notes consisted of a rapid chirping sound. As Dr. Kennerly’s party approached the coast of California, where the valleys abounded with flowers of every hue, these birds continued flitting before them in great numbers. Dr. Coues states that this species was not taken at Fort Whipple, though abundantly distributed throughout the Territory, particularly in its southern and southwestern portions, and found about fifty miles south of Prescott. It is presumed to winter within the Territory, and also within the valley of the Colorado. Dr. Cooper did not observe any at Fort Mohave until March 5, and they were not numerous afterwards. At San Diego, in 1862, when the spring was unusually backward, he saw none before April 22, and he has since met with them as far north as San Francisco, where, however, they are rare. The notes uttered by the male he compares to the highest and sharpest note that can be drawn from a violin. Nothing more is known as to their distinctive specific peculiarities.
GenusSELASPHORUS,Swainson.
Selasphorus,Swainson,F. B. A. II, 1831, 324. (Type,Trochilus rufus.)
Illustration: Selasphorus rufusSelasphorus rufus.2896♂
Selasphorus rufus.2896♂
As already stated, the characters ofSelasphorus, as distinguished fromCalypte(to which it is most nearly related, through theC. floresi), consist in the lack of metallic feathers on the crown, and in the attenuation of the outer primary, and the pointed and acuminate cuneate (instead of forked) tail.
As distinguished fromTrochilus, the quills diminish gradually, instead of showing an abrupt transition between the fourth and fifth, so characteristic of the two species ofTrochilus, as restricted. The very attenuated tip of the outer primary is a character entirely peculiar toSelasphorus.
The two North American species, though strictly congeneric, differ from each other considerably in details of form, as well as in color. They may be distinguished from each other and from their two Central American allies as follows:—
Species and Varieties.
A.Feathers of the metallic gorget not elongated laterally.
S. platycercus.Above continuous metallic green; tail-feathers merely edged with rufous. Gorget purplish-red.
Wing, 1.90; tail, 1.40; bill (from forehead), .66. Gorget rich solferino-purple, the feathers grayish-white beneath the surface. Outer primary with its attenuated tip turned outward.Hab.Rocky Mountains and Middle Province of United States, south to Guatemala …var.platycercus.
Wing, 1.65; tail, 1.20; bill, .41. Gorget dull velvety-crimson, the feathers ochraceous beneath the surface. Outer primary apparently with its attenuated tip curved inward.Hab.Costa Rica …var.flammula.[116]
B.Feathers of the metallic gorget much elongated laterally.
S. rufus.Above chiefly rufous, overlaid by green (except inS. scintilla, which is almost wholly green above); tail-feathers rufous with a shaft-streak of dusky. Gorget fiery red. Attenuated tip of outer primary curved inwards.
Wing, 1.60; tail, 1.30; bill, .65. Rufous prevailing above; gorget very brilliant.Hab.Western Province of North America, from East Humboldt Mountains to the Pacific. North to Sitka, south to Mirador …var.rufus.
Wing, 1.35; tail, 1.00 to 1.10; bill, .42. Continuous green above; gorget not brilliant, but with a dusty appearance. Tail less graduated.Hab.Costa Rica and Chiriqui …var.scintilla.[117]
Selasphorus rufus,Swainson.
RUFOUS-BACKED HUMMING-BIRD.
Trochilus rufus,Gmelin,Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 497.—Aud.Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 555,pl. ccclxxii.Selasphorus rufus,Swainson,F.-Bor. Am. II, 1831, 324.—Aud.BirdsAm. IV, 1842, 200,pl. ccliv.—Baird,Birds N. Am.1858, 134.—Cooper & Suckley, 164.—Dall & Bannister,Trans. Chicago Acad. I, 1869, 275 (Alaska).—Finsch,Abh. Nat. III, 1872, 29 (Alaska).—Cooper,Orn. Cal.1, 1870, 355.Trochilus collaris,Lath.(Bonaparte).Trochilus sitkensis,Rathke(Bonaparte).Ornysmia sasin,Lesson(Bonaparte).
Sp. Char.Tail strongly cuneate and wedge-shaped. Upper parts, lower tail-coverts, and breast cinnamon. A trace of metallic green on the crown, which sometimes extends over the back, never on the belly. Throat coppery red, with a well-developed ruff of the same; below this a white collar. Tail-feathers cinnamon, edged or streaked at the end with purplish-brown.Femalewith the rufous of the back covered or replaced with green; less cinnamon on the breast. Traces only of metallic feathers on the throat. Tail rufous, banded with black and tipped with white; middle feathers glossed with green at the end. Tail still cuneate. Length of male, 3.50; wing, 1.55; tail, 1.30.
Hab.West coast of North America, and across from Gulf of California to the Upper Rio Grande Valley, and along the table-lands of Mexico, south; in Middle Province east to East Humboldt Mountains.
Specimens from the table-lands of Mexico are smaller than those from Oregon, and have yellower, less ruby throats.
Illustration: Selasphorus rufusSelasphorus rufus.
Selasphorus rufus.
Habits.This brilliant species has an extended distribution throughout the western part of North America, being found from the valley of the Rio Grande to the Pacific, and from Mexico to Sitka. It was first discovered near Nootka Sound, by that distinguished navigator, Captain Cook, and described by Latham, and has been met with as far to the south as Real del Monte, on the table-lands of Mexico, by Mr. Taylor, whose specimens were described by Mr. Swainson.
Dr. Coues found it very abundant at Arizona, near Fort Whipple, as it is also along the whole slope of the Rocky Mountains. It is a summer resident in that Territory, and breeds there abundantly, arriving at Fort Whipple April 10, and remaining until the middle of September, being found in all situations, particularly meadows, open copses, ravines, etc., where flowers are most abundant.
Mr. Dall gives them as common summer residents at Sitka. Bischoff obtained sixteen specimens. Dr. Suckley says they are very abundant in the western provinces of both Oregon and Washington Territory, and in Vancouver Island. They appear to be very hardy, and are one of the earliest of the migratory birds to arrive in spring. At Fort Steilacoom, latitude 47°, they appeared April 10. They are supposed to commence their southern migrations from that region in September,—a move induced by the scarcity of flowers and lack of means of captivating insects, rather than by cold. In Washington Territory their incubation commences about the 10th of May, and is made evident by the fierce and angry battles continually occurring between the male birds, in which they tilt at each other at full speed, at the same time keeping up a loud and vociferous squeaking and buzzing.
A nest with eggs, of this species, obtained by Dr. Cooper near Fort Slaughter, May 23, was found in the forked branch of a snowberry-bush. It was composed principally of fine green moss, lined internally with the delicate floss of the cottonwood, and externally bordered most artistically with rock lichens. The female was on the nest, and allowed so near an approach as almost to admit of being grasped by the hand. The nest was 2.00 inches in diameter and 1.50 in height. The eggs measured .45 by .33 of an inch, and were white, as in all the species.
Dr. Cooper states that the appearance of this species at the Straits of Fuca is coincident with the blossoming of the red-flowering currant, which begins to bloom on the Columbia March 10. The male of this species has a remarkable habit, when a stranger or a wild animal approaches its nest, of rising to a great height in the air, and of then darting down perpendicularlyupon the intruder, producing a hollow rushing sound, like that of the Night-Hawk, but of a much sharper tone. These sounds are produced by the wings. In July, when flowers are more abundant among the mountain summits, they leave the lower country. Dr. Cooper found them abundant in August at an elevation of nearly six thousand feet, and where ice was formed at night in their camp.
In California, Dr. Cooper has not found any of this species remaining in winter, even at San Diego, where, however, he has known them to arrive as early as the 5th of February. He also saw several on the22dof the same month feeding among the flowers of the evergreen gooseberry. By the first of April they were swarming about San Diego. Their young are hatched before the middle of June. When perching, this species is said to utter a shrill wiry call, like the highest note of a violin. They also produce a curious kind of bleating sound. They are among the most noisy and lively of their race, are very quarrelsome, chase each other away from favorite flowers, rising into the air until out of sight, chirping as they go in the most excited manner.
Mr. Lord noticed the arrival of this species at Little Spokan River, in latitude 49°, early in May. He found their nests usually in low shrubs and close to rippling streams. The females of this and other species are said to arrive about a week later than the males.
Dr. Heermann for several successive seasons found many pairs of these birds breeding in the vicinity of San Francisco.
Mr. Nuttall compares the appearance of the male birds of this species, when he approached too near their nests, to an angry coal of brilliant fire, as they darted upon him, passing within a few inches of his face as they returned again and again to the attack, making a sound as of a breaking twig.
Dr. Woodhouse, who found this bird abundant in New Mexico, particularly in the vicinity of Santa Fé, speaks of the great noise they make for so small a bird, and of their quarrelsome and pugnacious disposition.
Mr. R. Brown, in his synopsis of the birds of Vancouver Island, notes the appearance of this species, from the end of March to the beginning of May, according to the state of the season. Its nest was built on the tips of low bushes, or the under branches of trees. This was the only species of Humming-Bird seen west of the Cascade Mountains.
The Rufous Hummer was first noticed by Mr. Ridgway in the valley of the Truckee River, in August, where it was the only species shot, and was extremely abundant among the sunflowers which ornament the meadows. In May of the succeeding year, when the same locality was again visited, not one of this species was to be found, its place being apparently supplied by theT. alexandri, which was quite common, and breeding. Eastward it was met with as far as the East Humboldt Mountains, where, however, only a single pair was seen, and one of them shot, in September.
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.—Baird,Birds N. Am.1858, 135,pl. xliii, figs. 1 and 2.—Cooper,Pr. Cal. Ac.1868 (Lake Tahoe).—Ib.Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 357.Ornismia tricolor,Lesson, Colibris, 125 (no date)pl. xiv(Brazil).—Ib.Trochilide. 1831, 156,pl. lx(Mexico).—Jardine,Nat. Lib. II, 77,pl. xiii.Ornismya montana,Lesson,Trochilid.1831, 161,pl. lxiii, adult, and 163;pl. lxiv, young (Mexico).