File:Key to North American birds. Containing a concise account of every species of living and fossil bird at present known from the continent north of the Mexican and United States boundary, inclusive of (20179714553).jpg

Title: Key to North American birds. Containing a concise account of every species of living and fossil bird at present known from the continent north of the Mexican and United States boundary, inclusive of Greenland and Lower California, with which are incorporated General ornithology: an outline of the structure and classification of birds; and Field ornithology, a manual of collecting, preparing, and preserving birds
Identifier: cu31924090314984 (find matches)
Year: 1894 (1890s)
Authors: Coues, Elliott, 1842-1899
Subjects: Birds; Birds
Publisher: Boston, Estes and Lauriat
Contributing Library: Cornell University Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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TBOCHILID^— TROGHILIN^: HUMMING-BIBDS. 459 from the fact that, as in Passeres proper, the flexor longus halluois is independent of the flexor longus digitorum, —that is, the muscle which bends the hind toe works separately from that which flexes the other toes coUeetively. The arrangement of the thigh muscles is the same as in Cypselidm. There is one carotid artery, the left; a nude oil-gland; no coeca. The pterylosis is characteristic. The food of the Hummers was formerly supposed to be the sweets of flowers. It is now known that they are chiefly insectivorous. Then- little nests are models of architectural beauty. The eggs are always two in number. The young hatch weak and helpless, requiring to be fed by the parents, the Hummers being thus of altricial nature. The voice is not musical. The family is one of the most perfectly circumscribed in ornithology, and one of the largest of its grade. So intimately and variously are the genera interrelated that every attempt to divide it into subfamilies has proven unsatisfactory. The hummers are peculiar to America. Species occur from Alaska to Patagonia ; but vre have a mere sprinkling in this country. The centre of abundance is in tropical South America, particularly New Gra- nada. Nearly 500 spe- cies are current; the number of positively spe- ciflc forms may be esti- mated at about 400 or more. The genera or subgenera vary with au- thors from 50 to 150. The latest critical author- ity upon the subject gives 436 species, assigned to 125 genera. (Elliot.) None of the known N. A. Hummers exhibits the extremes of shape of bill or tail which some of the tropical genera Dlus- Fig. 299. — Euby-tliroated Humming-birds, rf', ?, and nest, nearly nat. size, trate; in only one (Colo- (Sheppai-d del. Mohola se.) thorax lueifer) is the biU decidedly curved. Only one species is as much as 4 inches long, — the magnificent Eugenes fulgens. Some curious shapes of tail, including marked sexual characters in this respect, are exhibited by cei'tain genera. Only one species, the common Kuby-throat, is known to occur in the East; this was the only one known to Wilson. Audubon gave four species, but one of them erroneously. Since his time, however, new forms of these exquisite ier6atures have successively been brought to light over our Mexican border. In 1858, Baird gave seven (one of them Lampornis mango, erroneously, as Audubon had done). In 1872, in the " Key," I was able to increase the number to ten, but with two wrongly given (the Lampornis and Agyrtria linncd). The same ten, with the two errors, were given by Baird and Ridgway in 1874. Within a few years the discoveries have been so many, that, after eliminating the two errors, I am able to describe no fewer than fifteen perfectly distinct species of United States Humming-birds; and I have no doubt that several others wiU in due time be found over our Mexican border. The discrimination of the females and young is difiicult; but with the adult males there should he no trouble. The following table is intended tn enable the student to tell the genus and species directly of any U. S. Hummer, if the specimen he has in hand he an adult male.
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