FIRE-BACKED SUNBIRD. 131 



gative characters of this sort, particularly in such a 

 genus as this, are very often better than others of a 

 positive nature. The whole of the head, the neck, 

 and the breast, is of a dark glossy copper-red colour, 

 with a slight gloss of lilac-purple on the throat and 

 breast: this copper-red extends down the upper 

 part of the neck on to the interscapulars, where it 

 gradually becomes more lilac, or, in other words, 

 the coppery gloss diminishes and the lilac increases, 

 and so continues down the whole back, and is ter- 

 minated only by the upper tail-covers, which are 

 tinged with an amythistine purple : the lesser wing- 

 covers are like the rump, but the colour terminates 

 in a more purplish tinge than is seen in any other 

 part of the bird : the whole of the remainder plum- 

 age, from the breast to the vent, including also 

 the tail and wings, is of the deepest black : bill and 

 feet the same. 



Total length, 4| inches ; bill, from the gape, T 8 ; 

 wings, 2 i 5 <>; tail beyond, 1^; ditto, from the 

 base, 2; tarsus, T V 



