Genus Thalurania Gould

If all genera were as well defined as that of Thalurania, the ornithologist would be far less perplexed than he frequently is with regard to the position of the species of which they are composed. All the members of this extensive group are characterized by great elegance of contour, the bill, wings, and tail being well proportioned, and in harmony with the size of the body; green and blue are the prevailing hues of the under-surface, while the crown and throat, and sometimes the shoulders, are ornamented with blue. The females are less elegant in form, and not so beautifully attired, all those parts which are green and blue in the males being, in every instance, I believe, of a dull grey.

The extent of country ranged over by the members of this group is very great: one, and one only, has been found to the north of Panama; the remainder inhabit all the countries southward to the latitude of Rio de Janeiro.

• 114.

  Thalurania glaucopis

  Habitat: South-eastern Brazil

  Plate 99 Thalurania glaucopis Brazilian Wood Nymph

  • Cynanthus glaucopis, Jard. Nat. Lib. Humming-Birds, vol. ii. p. 147.
  • Glaucopis frontalis, Burm. Th. Bras. tom. il. p. 333.
  • Thalurania glaucopis, Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iu. p. 23.
• 115.

  Thalurania Watertoni

  Habitat: British Guiana; and Northern Brazil?

  Plate 100 Thalurania Watertoni Waterton’s Wood Nymph
• 116.

  Thalurania furcata

  Habitat: Cayenne and Guiana

  Plate 101 Thalurania furcata Cayenne Wood-Nymph

  • Cynanthus furcatus, Jard. Nat. Lib. Humming-Birds, vol. ii. p. 148.
  • Thalurania Gyrinno, Reichenb. Aufz. der Col. p. 7.
  • Coeligena Gyrinno, Reichenb. Troch. Enum. p. 3, pl. 682. figs. 4500–1.
  • Thalurania furcata, Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil i. p. 24.
  • Thalurania furcata, Reichenb. Aufz. der Col. p. 7.
  • Coelgena furcata, Reichenb. Troch. Enum. p. 3, pl. 682. figs. 4498–99.
  • Trochilus furcatus, Burm. Th. Bras. tom. ii. p. 335.
• 117.

  Thalurania furcatoides (Gould)

  Habitat: Para and the lower part of the Amazon

  No illustrations

  This bird is very like T. furcata, but is of smaller size, has a much less-forked tail, and the breast ultramarine-blue instead of purplish-blue. I have at this moment seven specimens before me, all of which are alike, and readily distinguishable from the Cayenne bird.

  • Thalurania furcatoides, Gould, in text to T. furcata.
• 118.

  Thalurania forficata (Cab.)

  Habitat: Supposed to be the neighbourhood of Para

  No illustrations

  Through the kindness of Dr. Peters, the Director of the Royal Museum of Berlin, I have had their specimen of T. forficata sent to me for comparison. It is certainly distinct from any of the species contained in the collections of this country: in size it is nearly the same as T. furcata; but its bill is rather shorter, its tail longer, more deeply forked, and of a purplish-black colour instead of steely-black: it differs from that bird also in having the blue colouring more extended down the back, approaching to that of T. Watertoni; the green of the throat is circumscribed and truncate below, as in T. furcata; and the crown of the head is black, but near the centre is a single small blue feather: I think it likely that this is accidental, as the bird appears to be fully adult: the under tail-coverts are black.

• 119.

  Thalurania refulgens (Gould)

  Habitat: Unknown; supposed to be Venezuel

  Plate 102 Thalurania refulgens Refulgent Wood-Nymph
• 120.

  Thalurania Tschudii (Gould)

  Habitat: Ucayali and the eastern part of Ecuador

  Plate 103 Thalurania Tschudii Tschudi’s Wood-Nymph

  • Trochilus furcatus, Tschudi
• 121.

  Thalurania nigrofasciata (Gould)

  Habitat: Upper Amazon and Rio Napo.

  Plate 104 Thalurania nigrofasciata Black-banded Wood-Nymph
• 122.

  Thalurania venusta (Gould)

  Habitat: Chiriqui in Costa Rica

  Plate 105 Thalurania venusta Veraguan Wood-Nymph

  • Coeligena venusta, Reichenb. Troch. Enum. p. 3, pl. 683. figs 4504–5.
  • Coeligena puella, Reichenb. ib. p. 3.
• 123.

  Thalurania Columbica

  Habitat: The hilly parts of New Granada

  Plate 106 Thalurania Columbica Columbian Wood-Nymph

  • Thalurania columbica, Cab. et Hein. 3 Mus. Hein. Theil iii. p. 2
• 124.

  Thalurania verticeps (Gould)

  Habitat: Ecuador

  Plate 107 Thalurania verticeps Green-crowned Wood-Nymph

  • Chlorestes verticeps, Reichenb. Troch. Enum. p. 4, pl. 705. fig. 4590.
• 125.

  Thalurania Fanniæ

  Habitat: The Andes of Quindios

  No illustrations

  I have a specimen of this bird, collected by Warszewicz on the Cordillera of Quindios, which is precisely the same as the type specimen of the T. Fannyi of MM. Bourcier and Delattre. It differs from my T. verticeps in being considerably smaller and in having the abdomen purple-blue in lieu of cold prussian-blue.

  • Coeligena Fanny, Reichenb. Troch. Enum. p. 3, pl. 683. figs. 4502–3.
  • Thalurania Fanny, Bonap. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1854, p. 254; Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii. p. 23.
• 126.

  Thalurania Eriphyle

  Habitat: Eastern Brazil

  Plate 108 Thalurania Eriphyle Brazilian Wood-Nymph

  • Coeligena Eryphile, Reichenb. Troch. Enum. p. 3, oe 582. fie 4507–8.
  • Glaucopis eriphile, Burm. Th. Bras. tom. ii. p. 334.
  • Trochilus excisus, Licht. in Mus. of Berlin.
  • Thalurania eryphile, Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil iii. p. 23.
• 127.

  Thalurania? Wagleri

  Habitat: Brazil

  Plate 109 Thalurania? Wagleri Wagler’s Wood-Nymph

  • Trochilus bicolor, Vieill. Ois. dor., tom. i. p. 75, pl. 36.
  • Coeligena Waglert, Reichenb. Troch. Enum. p. 3, pl. 702. figs. 4576–77.
  • Thalurania Wagleri, Cab. et Hein. Mus. Hein. Theil ii. p. 24.

Supplemental

• Thalurania hypochlora Citado Wood-Nymph
• Thalurania jelskii Jelski’s Wood-Nymph
• Thalurania furcatoides Para Wood-Nymph