The next species is interesting for its great size, the elegance of its proportions, and the beauty and harmony of its colours. This new and extraordinary bird I have named Eugenia Imperatrix in honour of the Empress of the French.
Generic characters.
Male.— Bill straight or slightly inclining upwards, longer than the head; wings long; primaries rigid; tail long and forked, the feathers narrow and unyielding; tarsi partially clothed; feet small; hind toe long; nail moderate; face luminous.
Female.—Unadorned.
Eugenia Imperatrix
Habitat: Ecuador
Plate 234
Eugenia Imperatrix
Empress Humming Bird
“Professor Jameson’s specimens of this fine bird were obtained in the neighbourhood of Auca, on the road to Nanegal, at about 6000 or 7000 feet elevation. They were feeding on the Alstremerie, Dature not being found in that locality.”—Jameson and Fraser in Ibis, vol. i. p. 400.
Featuring all 422 illustrated species from John Gould’s A Monograph of the Trochilidæ, or Family of Humming-Birds arranged by color.
Humming-Birds