Petasophora serrirostris, Scl. et Salv. Nomencl. p. 89; Elliot, Syn. Troch. p. 52; Gould, Mon. Troch. iv. pl. 223. Petasophora crispa, Burm. La-Plata Reise, ii. p. 447 (Tucuman).
Description.—Head, upper surface, wing-coverts, flanks, and abdomen dark yellowish green; ear-coverts rich violet-blue; wings purplish brown; tail dark bluish green, crossed near the tip by a broad chalybeate band, beyond which the tips are of a lighter bluish green; throat and upper part of the breast luminous green; across the breast a gorget of shining bluish green; vent and under tail-coverts pure white; bill black; feet blackish brown: whole length 3·8 inches, wings 2·8, tail 1·7. Female similar, but not so bright.
Hab. S.E. Brazil.
Dr. Burmeister informs us that he met with this Humming-bird in multitudes in the month of September among the orange-blossoms in the Quintas of Tucuman. It is a well-known species in South-east Brazil, but we know of no other record of its occurrence so far south as Tucuman.
[234.] PATAGONA GIGAS (Vieill.).
(GIANT HUMMING-BIRD.)
Patagona gigas, Scl. et Salv. Nomencl. p. 89; White, P. Z. S. 1882, p. 615 (Catamarca); Elliot, Syn. Troch. p. 67; Gould, Mon. Troch. iv. pl. 232.
Description.—Head and upper surface pale brown, glossed with green; wings and tail darker and more green; basal portion of the shafts of the lateral rectrices white; patch on the rump white; upper tail-coverts edged with white; breast mottled brown and buff; throat and abdomen rusty red; under tail-coverts white, with brownish centre spots; bill blackish brown; feet brown: whole length 7·0 inches, wing 4·9, tail 3·4. Female similar but smaller.
Hab. Andes of Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru, Chili, Patagonia, and Northern Argentina.
White seems to be the only observer who has met with this Humming-bird within the limits of the Argentine Republic. He obtained a pair at Andalgala, in Catamarca, in September 1880, and wrote the following notes on the habits of the species:—