124 RED-BREASTED SUNBIRD. 



when it assumes the plumage of the female. The 

 latter sex, as Le Yaillant observes, is of a grey- 

 brown-olive above, and of a lighter tint beneath, 

 which gradually inclines to dull white on the belly 

 and under tail-covers ; all the tail-feathers are 

 rounded and equal. The male, in its full plumage, 

 is entirely of a rich gilded-green, both above and 

 below, except upon the breast, where there is a 

 transverse patch of bright scarlet, shading off on all 

 sides into pale straw-coloured yellow : the quills 

 and tail are blackish-brown : the greater wing-co- 

 vers the same ; but those nearest the body are edged 

 with green, the lesser covers being like the back : 

 the tail is rounded, and of a boat-shaped form, and 

 the bill and feet are black : the two middle tail-fea- 

 thers extend two and a half inches beyond the 

 others. 



Total length, exclusive of the two middle tail- 

 feathers, 4 T 6 o ; bill, T 7 o ; wings, 2 T % ; tail beyond, 

 j 6 ^; ditto, from the base, 1. 



