THE WHITE-BOOTED RACKET-TAIL. 169 



account of the very considerable dimensions to which it reaches. Its nest is a very remarkable 

 structure, looking much as if it were made from leather, and woven so adroitly to the bough 

 upon which it is placed that it can hardly be distinguished from the natural bark or from 

 some of the numerous fungi that grow upon trees. Its surface is quite smooth, and the color 

 is a reddish-dun. The substance of which it is composed is a kind of fungus, of the same 

 order as the well-known Boletus of which German tinder is made. The eggs are two in 

 number, and beautifully white. 



The color of this splendid bird is mostly a blazing scarlet, contrasting boldly with the 

 deep velvet-black of the head and part of the neck. The throat is emerald-green, with a patch 

 of delicate crimson in the centre. The lower part of the back and the upper tail-coverts are 

 beautiful green with orange gloss ; and the wings and tail are purple-black, with the excep- 

 tion of the two elongated feathers of the tail, which are purplish -green, and cross each other 

 near the base. The under tail-coverts are green. So vivid are the tints, and so beautiful the 

 form of this bird, that it well deserves the honorable title accorded to it by Prince Lucien 

 Bonaparte of being " inter Trochilides pulcherrimus." The female is without the elongated 

 tail-feathers, and she is of a green-gold color on the upper parts of the body. This species is 

 very like the following bird, but may be distinguished from it by the purple of its tail- 

 feathers and the fiery effulgence of its body. The entire length of this bird is about eight 

 inches. 



THE CRIMSON TOPAZ, or ABA HUMMING-BIRD (Topaza pella), closely resembles the fiery 

 topaz, except that the hues of its body are more of a deep crimson than of the flaming 

 scarlet which denotes the preceding species. The tail is reddish-buff, with the exception of 

 the two central feathers which have the same purple-green as in T. pyra. It inhabits Cayenne, 

 Trinidad, and Surinam, and among the natives is known by the name of Karabamiti. It is a 

 shy and retiring bird, living near rivers, and shrouding its beauties in the deepest forests. 

 It is a semi-nocturnal bird, resembling the nightjars in many of its habits, and being most 

 active in the early dawn and the beginning of the evening. Only at those hours does it 

 venture from the deep recesses of its home, and display its flashing colors as it darts along 

 the glades or over the streams in search of its insect prey. 



WE have in the Racket-tailed Humming-birds one of those singular forms which are so 

 often found among these strange little birds. 



The RACKET-TAIL HUMMING-BIRD (Discura longicauda) is a native of Cayenne, Surinam, 

 and Demei-ara, and is also found in several portions of Northern Brazil. It is chiefly remark- 

 able for the curious formation from which it derives its popular and appropriate name. 



In the male bird, the face, throat, and part of the neck are light verditer-green, becoming 

 more luminous towards the chest. Under the chin there is a little velvet-black spot, which is 

 very conspicuous against the light green of the surrounding feathers. The upper parts are 

 bronze-green, and a buff-white band crosses the lower end of the back. The very curious tail 

 is deeply forked, the two exterior feathers being twice the length of the second pair, and the 

 others decreasing in length in rapid progression. The general color of the tail is purple-black, the 

 purple being especially visible on the "rackets." The female possesses no rackets on the tail, 

 nor green on her head or throat. The velvet-black spot on the chin, however, retains its place. 



THE WHITE-BOOTED RACKET-TAIL inhabits the Columbian Andes, aad is very common 

 near Santa Fe de Bogota. It is a hill-loving bird, being generally found at an elevation of five 

 or ten thousand feet above the level of the sea. It is thought to be confined within the third 

 and tenth degrees of north latitude. This bird is remarkably swift of wing, its darting flight 

 reminding the spectator of the passage of an arrow through the air. At one time it will hover 

 close to the ground, hanging over some favorite flower and extracting the sweet contents of the 

 blossoms ; and at the next moment it will shoot to the very summit of some lofty tree, as if 

 impelled from a bow, and leave but the impression of an emerald-green line of light upon the 

 observer's eye. While hovering over the flowers, the long racket-shaped feathers of the tail 



VOL. n.-22. 



