Description of a new genus and species of Trochilidae

VOL. _XVIII, PP. 161-162 JUNE _29,

1905

PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

DESCRIPTION OF A NEW ^GENUS AND SPECIES OF TPvOCHILIDAE.

BY HARRY

C.

OBERHOLSER.

A

_single

_specimen

of a

hummingbird

ⁱⁿ the collection of

the

Field

Columbian Museum

of

Chicago seems

to represent

a new genus

^{as well as}

a new

_species. It is

here

described

through the

courtesy ^of

Mr. Charles

B.

Cory, the Curator

^of

Birds

in this

museum.

Aeronympha*

gen. nov.

Chars, gen.

Wings

^ofmoderate length, reaching

when

closedtowithin about12 millimeters oftheendofthetail;

none

ofthe primariesnarrowed, but

much

as in Vest!pedes

and

Cynnolrsbia;tailabouttwo-thirdsthe length of wing,

and

forked forone-fourthits

own

_length, the rectrices obtusely

and

rather abruptly pointed,about7

mm.

inwidth,verygradually

becom

ingslightly ^less than this basal_ly;upper ^{fourth oftarsus} feathered,

and

togetherwiththe lower _tibia, enveloped ^{in a small tuftof} light-colored feathers,reachingontheformer about_half-waytothetoes; bill not _long, but exceedingthe head,straight,subcylindrical,moderatelyslender, slightly dilated _laterally near the _base,

and

rather abruptly pointed ^at the _tip, neither maxilla nor mandible with

any

^{trace of}subterminal serrations;

nostrilscovered

by

^{the frontal feathers}

which

extend out

on

maxillafor nearly one-third the length of^billmeasured fromtherictus,

and

consider ably

beyond

the featheringbetweentheramiof themandible.

Type.

Aeronympha

prosantissp. nov.

*

o-^p,air;VII/M^IJ, nymph.

27-Puoc. BIOL. Sue.WASH., VOL. XVIII, ^1905. (1C1)

162

Oberholscr

A New Genus and

Speciesoj Trochilidae.

Itisratherdifficulttosaywith

what

_genusthis

new

bird

shows

closest affinity,sinceifitshould prove ^to be a femaleit possibly lacks the ^tail- developmentof the male.

From

Cyanoltsbia^{itdiffers in}

much

_shorter,^less deeply ^{forked tail,}presence of tibio-tarsal _tufts,

and

rather

more

narrow, abruptly,^lesssharply pointed ^bill.

From

Vestipedes(=Eriooiemis)^it

may

readilybedistinguished

by

^the

more

narrowtail-feathers,

much

lesscon spicuousdevelopment ^{of the} tibio-tarsal _tufts, lessextensively feathered tarsus,

and

the greater extent of the^frontal feathering on the base of the maxilla.

From

_Zodalia,

which

itseems mosttoresemble,^it

may

^besepa rated

by

^its relatively shorter, lessdeeply ^forkedtail,with

more

_sharply pointed ^rectrices, slightly stouter bill,

and

the presence of well

marked

tibio-tarsaltufts.

Acronym ^pha

^{prosantis sp.nov.}

Type.

From

Colombia[Bogota]. No. _11,852,Field

Columbian Museum

Adult, sex

unknown.

Description.

Plumage

^{of the} upper parts metallic, but not _glittering;

pileum

and

_{nape deep}reddish_violet,the feathers of theformerwith bluish greentips; upper back, scapulars,

and

sides of neck deep ^bottle green, merginggradually^intothedeep^{reddish violet of}lower _back,rump,

and

upper tail-coverts; ^tail prune purple; wing-quills, greater

and

_primary coverts_fuscous,with a prunepurplesheen_;

median and

lessercovertsdeep reddish violet,those ofthe latter lying nearest the

bend

ofthe

wing

^with broadbottlegreenedgings; anteorbital region (hind part oflores) black, the feathers withwhitish bases;infraorbital stripe (continuouswith_lores) anteriorly black,posteriorly dull greenish; a conspicuousspot of

creamy

white_just behindthe eye; remainder of postocular region deep ^reddish violet likethenape;a ratherbroadstreak of

tawny

^{ochraceous from the}

rictustoopposite themiddleoftheeye below ^the infraorbital stripe; rest ofcheeks dull metallic parrotgreen with narrowedgings of

tawny;

^chin reddishviolet,the feathers with_{relatively large} metallic_grassgreen ^sub- terminal crescentic bars,

and

narrow

tawny

margins; remainder^of lower parts metallic parrot green, the feathers of themedial _portions

and

_espe

ciallyofallthelower

abdomen

_edged with

tawny;

^{the lower} tail-coverts mostly

tawny

^{ochraceouswith}large central spots ofgreen^;a^tuft ofslate coloredwhite_tipped

downy

^feathers

^on

^{eachsideofthe lower}

abdomen

;

tibio-tarsal^tufts

cream

white; lining of

wing

deep^{reddishviolet}with con siderable metallicgreenanteriorly. Lengthof wing, 04^;lateral tail-feathers, 47; central tail-feathers, 33.5; exposed culmen,^15.3; bill from _rictus,20_; tarsus, 6.5; middle_toe,5; middle_claw,3.5

mm.

Unfortunately^theonly

example

^ofthis

hummingbird

^{iswithoutindica}

tion of_{sex, date,}or further _locality than^"Colombia." It_is,however,^of thewell-known Bogota make,

and came

probably from ^thatvicinity. ^It has theappearance^ofbeinga female, butanadult.