THK KlMY-THRnvrKI) HI' ^[Ml^•f;-HIRI). 205 



acoidcMital prof iibfrdiico. Tlio pR'S's are two in munlior, of a puro white colour, and of 

 otjKuL lliiekiiess at both piuls. Should any one approach the vicinit}' of the nest, the 

 parent birds dart around, witJi a hiuuniing sound, passing- frequently within a I'vw inches 

 (if tlie head of the intruder; and should tlie young be newly hatclied, the female will 

 resume her plai-o on the nest, even while the visitor stands within a yard or two of the 

 spot. A short time before the yotuig leave tlie nest, they nuiy often be seen thrusting 

 their bills into tlie mouths of tiieir parents, and sucking what tliey may have brought 

 them to cat. 



The humming-bird manifests great partiality for tuliular flowers, and its manoeuvres 

 among the blossoms of the trumpet-flower are very interesting. Wilson, who has often 

 watched them, states, flutt when they have arrived before a thicket of these plants, which 

 are, perhaps, in full bloom, he poises himself in the air for the space of two or three seconds, 

 aiul the observer can plainly detect the j^ujjil of his eye looking I'ound with great quickness 

 and circumspection, while the glossy, golden green of his back, and the tire-like hue of his 

 throat dazzling in the sun, form altogether a most interesting appearance, Tlie position 

 into ■^^•hich his body is thro-^-n, while in the act of thrusting his slender tubular tongue 

 into tlie flower to extract its sweets, is also very curious. "When he alights, which he 

 does frequently, he always prefers the small dead twigs of a tree or bush, Adhere he 

 arranges his plumage with great dexteritj*. 



Some of the humming-birds are not only remarkable for the brilliancy of their colours, 

 but for the tufts and phunes by which they are adorned. < )f these, therefore, wo shall 

 give some instances. i^ 



THE TUITED- NECKED HUMJIING-BIRD.* 



This exquisite little creature is a native of Cayenne, Brazil, and Guiana. It prefers 

 dry, arid plains, clothed with a scanty and bushy vegetation. Its head is ornamented with 

 a ci'cst of red feathers, and from the sides of the neck proceeds a tuft composed of twelve 

 or fourteen feathers of the same colour, ending each in a broad tip of clear shining green. 

 The chest is dotted with scaly feathers of a bright emerald-green, paler at it« edges. 

 The upper parts are golden-green, the lower greenish-brown ;• the tail is large, having 

 the centre feathers green, the others red, with a purple gloss. The female wants both 

 crest and throat plumes, but in tire metallic richness of her tints is hardly inferior to 

 her mate. 



THE TKOCHILUS GOl'LDII. 



This is a most elegant species, named after the justly celebrated naturalist to whom 

 we owe so many delightful specimens of humming birds, an acquaintance with numbers 

 previously unknown to ornithologists, and niimerous descriptions of great clearness and 

 accuracy. He saj's : " The native district of this spilendid species is unkno'O'n. The 

 forehead, throat, and xipper part of the breast are of the most brilliant green, the feathers 

 of a scaly form ; from the crown springs a beautiful crest of bright chestnut feathers, of 

 a lengthened form, and capable of being raised at pleasure ; the back and upper parts 

 are golden-green, crossed upon the rump with a whitish band ; the wings and tail are 

 brownish-purple, the latter ha\ing the centre feathers tinged with green. The neck 

 tufts are of the most splendid kind, and have a chaste but brilliant effect : they are 

 composed of narrow feathers of a snowy whiteness, the tips of each having a round spot 

 of blight emerald green, surmounted by a dark border." 



* Trocliihis Ormatus, 



