Illustrations of the Birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British and Russian AmericaCassin, John
Science
Illustrations of the Birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British and Russian America
Cassin, John
Birds -- North America
Colors. _Male._—Space around and behind the eye, in the living bird,
yellow, with a large red spot on its most posterior part; plumage of the
head above dark blue, with a metallic lustre, every feather edged with
reddish fulvous and white; entire other upper parts dark metallic green,
darkest on the neck behind and on the back; lightest on the wings and
central feathers of the tail; all the upper plumage edged with white,
and very narrowly with pale fulvous; primary quills dark brown, with a
green metallic lustre, and edged with white on their outer webs; upper
coverts of the tail and two central tail feathers green, with metallic
lustre, and edged with white; other feathers of the tail deep shining
blue, narrowly edged, and widely tipped with white, and having in some
lights a green lustre; under parts white, slightly tinged with ashy and
very pale yellowish; and on the throat and neck before with longitudinal
stripes of dark greenish-brown; bill and feet light bluish. _Female_
similar, but with the colors less vivid.
Hab. California, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico. Spec. in Mus. Acad.,
Philada., and in Nat. Mus., Washington city.
Obs. As the reader will have discovered from our preceding synonymes, an
unusual superabundance of names has been proposed for this bird. We have
no doubt, however, that it is the _Hoitlallotl_ of Hernandez (Nova,
plantarum, animalium et mineralium Mexicanorum, Historia, p. 25. Folio,
Rome, 1651), whose description is cited by both Buffon and Latham. On
the faith of the notice by the latter (Synopsis of Birds, II. p. 723),
Gmelin gave the name _Phasianus mexicanus_ as cited above. The
description by Hernandez is short and not very accurate; but we could
mention many species of birds, the original descriptions of which are
quite as much so, both ancient and modern. Prof. Wagler, in his
description of _Geococcyx variegatus_, above alluded to, expresses the
opinion that his bird is the same as that described by Hernandez; and
Mr. Strickland, in Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist., VIII. p. 544 (1842),
arrives at the same conclusion.
We regard it as at least possible, too, that this bird is the _Upupa
mexicana_ (Gmelin, Syst. Nat., I. p. 467), which is the “Mexican
Promerops” (Latham, Syn., II. p. 691). The descriptions are founded on a
figure in Seba (pl. 45, fig. 3), that about as accurately represents
this species as any other; which can also be said of his description. In
Seba’s figure it will be observed that three toes are directed forward,
which might appear to be a difficulty; but in reference to that point we
ask attention to Col. McCall’s valuable contribution in a preceding
page. There is, too, some peculiarity intended or attempted to be
represented in the figure to which we allude.
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