Volume 1, Plate XXXIV / Ornithology (Birds)

Blue-Throated Sabre-Wing

Trochilus latipennis

Known at first from a single specimen, this singular bird was later described from two examples sent from Tobago, measuring about five inches and a quarter. A patch of clearest violet-blue forms a gorget on the throat, the body is rich golden green, and the purplish-black wings are remarkable for their broad strong quills; it haunts woods by rivulets and marshy places among wild plantain bushes.