loo A BOOK OF BIRDS 



(Plate XXII. fig. 3). Three species of large size are known. They 

 inhabit Peru, Bolivia, and the Argentine Republic. 



The ** King " Humming-birds well deserve their name, for they 

 are hardly surpassed by any other members of this group in brilliancy 

 of plumage. They are distinguished by the two long, middle tail- 

 feathers, which cross one another in graceful fashion. The species 

 here figured (Plate XXII. fig. 4) is a native of the Rio Negro. 



Not the least remarkable of the many peculiarities which dis- 

 tinguish the Humming-bird is the curious way in which some 

 develop a kind of *' powder-puff " around the legs. This is well 

 seen in the Racket-tailed Humming-bird (Plate XXII. fig. 5), 

 of which six species are known, inhabiting South America, 

 from Venezuela and Columbia, through Ecuador and Peru, into 

 Bolivia. 



As we have already remarked, these birds are by no means con- 

 fined to the Tropics. They have been seen flitting about the fuchsias 

 of Terra del Fuego in a blinding snowstorm, and they are met with 

 on the lofty mountains of Chimborazo as high up as 16,000 feet, 

 dwelling in a world of almost continuous hail, sleet, and rain ! 



These wonderful birds feed chiefly on insects which harbour amid 

 the petals of honey-bearing flowers. To procure these they have 

 developed a most remarkable tubular tongue of complex structure, 

 which is so contrived as to suck up the honey and insects at the same 

 time. 



Beautiful as these birds appear in pictures, they are far more 

 beautiful when seen themselves, for no picture can possibly represent 

 the superb play of colour which takes place with every movement 

 of the body. Though stuffed specimens lose much of their beauty, 

 they retain sufficient of their glory to dazzle us. At times these tiny 

 bodies glow, as with some internal fire ; at others they appear dull. 

 As the spectator changes his place, green turns to gold, and gold to 

 black, and back again to gold and green, and a dozen other inter- 

 mediate hues, according to the intensity and incidence of the light. 

 One must see humming-birds to realise their surpassing beauty ; no 

 brush can depict them, nor can words describe them. Yet this 

 beauty is to them a fatal gift, for the vanity of women has caused a 

 price to be set on their heads, and tens of thousands are slain every 



