Zoological Illustrations Volume Iii Part 4

Lewin's figure is so excellent, that I should not again have represented this bird, had not the plate been prepared previous to the publication of his work. The outline figure of the bill will show more clearly the uncommon length of the nostrils, a character which is peculiar to this genus.

Pl. 130

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Pl. 131

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SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

_T. viridi-aureus, subtus ca.n.u.s; remigum primorum (in maribus) scapis dilatato-incurvatis; rectricium pennis 4 mediis viridibus apice nigro, lateralibus albis basi nigra; rostro vix recto._

Golden green, beneath grey; greater quills (in the male) with the shafts dilated and incurved. Four middle tail-feathers green tipped with black, lateral feathers white with a black base; bill nearly straight.

T. latipennis. _Lath. In. Orn._ 1. _p._ 310. _Gen. Zool._ 8. 1. 318.

T. campylopterus. _Gm. Sys. Nat._ 499. _n._ 65.

L'O. mouche a larges tuyaux. _Vieillot Ois. D'or._ _p._ 21. _p._ 59.

Broad-shafted H. Bird. _Lath. Syn._ _v._ 2. _p._ 765. _Gen. Zool._ 8.

318.

The opinion I expressed on the unusual formation of the wings in two species of Humming-birds, figured at pl. 83 and 107, appears to receive the fullest confirmation from the birds here represented. One of these (pl.

131) is clearly the _T. latipennis_, or Broad-shafted Humming-bird of authors; while the other presents not the slightest difference except in the shafts of the quills, which, instead of being thickened and dilated, are of the ordinary size.

Not having myself dissected these birds, I cannot decidedly say they are male and female; but I think no reasonable doubt can remain that such is the fact, and that these singular quill-feathers are characteristic only of the male s.e.x.

Both the birds are represented the size of life, and may be included in one description: the upper plumage obscure blueish green, glossed with a coppery or golden tinge and shaded with brown, the plumage beneath entirely grey; ears and sides of the neck the same, the latter with some spots of greenish. Tail large, even, and broad; the two middle feathers green, tipt (in the male) with blackish; the next pair black, with the base green, and the extreme points whitish; the remainder black, with their ends more or less white. Wings violet brown, the shafts of the three outer quills, in the male, dilated and compressed, but simple in the female. Said to inhabit Cayenne. Although the bill of this species is all but straight, it belongs naturally to the curved-bill division.

Pl. 132

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MACROGLOSSUM annulosum,

_Upper figure_

GENERIC CHARACTER.--See Pl. 64.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

_M. alis nigris, anticis fasciis 2 hyaline maculatis ornatis; abdominis nigri, segmento tertio niveo._

Wings black, anterior with two bands of hyaline spots; abdomen black, the third segment snowy.

An elegant insect; so closely allied to _Sphinx Tantalus, Lin._ (_Drury_, _v._ 1. _pl._ 26. _f._ 5.) as to excite a doubt if it should be considered as a separate species. Drury's figure and description, however, of that insect, induce me to think they are most probably distinct. _S. Tantalus_ is without the two bands of hyaline spots, and is much smaller in size.

In this insect are three small, white, snowy dots, on the sides of the lower segments of the abdomen, and the same beneath: the a.n.a.l segment is grey; with the margin, and spot in the middle, black. Inhabits Brazil, but is a rare insect.

MACROGLOSSUM fasciatum,

_Lower figure._

_M. alis nigricantibus, anticis fusco variis, posticis striga aurantiaca centrali ornatis; thorace grisea; corporis lateribus, maculis aurantiacis, nigris et pallide fulvis insignibus; antennis gracilibus; unco producto._

Wings blackish, anterior variegated with brown, posterior with a central orange stripe; thorax grey, sides of the body with orange, black, and pale yellow spots; antennae slender, hook lengthened.

Sphinx ceculus. _Cramer_, _pl._ 146. _f._ G.

This is another Brazilian species, much more frequent than the last. In Cramer, at pl. 146, g. is figured an insect under the name of _Ceculus_, which no author appears to have quoted; but which (miserably inaccurate as it is), I have no doubt the artist intended as a representation of this insect; particularly as Cramer's description, though short, is very applicable. The colours beneath are uniform dark brown; the thorax, legs, and base of the wings, whitish; near the exterior margin of the superior wings is a small white dot, and two others on each side of the middle segments of the body.

Pl. 133

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THECLA Macaria,

_Chesnut-spotted Hair-Streak._

GENERIC CHARACTER.--See Pl. 69.