THE COPPER-BELLIED PUFF-LEG HUMMING-BIRD. 167 



slightly edged with gray, and there is a very faint indication of emerald-green on part of 

 the throat. The young male is much like the female, but is more coppery in his hues. 

 The throat is white speckled with brown, because each feather is white with a brown tip. 

 At each side of the throat there is a large patch of green intermingled with white. 



THE SLENDER SHEAR-TAIL is an inhabitant of Central America, and appears to be rather 

 a local bird. It is supposed not to be found south of the Isthmus of Panama, nor to extend 

 more than eighteen degrees northwards. As its wings are rather short, and not remarkable 

 for strength, it is conjectured to be a non-migratory bird. The country where it is seen in 

 the greatest plenty is Guatemala. 



The sexes of this creature are very different in their form and color of their plumage, 

 and could hardly be recognized as belonging to the same species. In the adult male bird, 

 the upper parts of the body are a deep shining green, becoming brown on the head, and 

 changing into bronze on the back and wing-coverts. The wings are purple-brown. The 

 long and deeply-forked tail is black, with the exception of a little brown upon the inner 

 web of the two outermost feathers. The chin is black glossed with green, the throat is 

 deep metallic purple, and upon the upper part of the chest is placed a large crescent- 

 shaped mark of buff. The abdomen is bronze, with a gray spot in its centre ; and there is 

 a buff spot on each flank. The under tail-coverts are of a greenish hue. 



The female does not possess the long tail, and her colors are golden-green above and 

 reddish-buff below. The tail is very curiously marked. The central feathers are entirely 

 gold -green ; the exterior feathers are rusty red at their base, black for a considerable por- 

 tion of their length, and tipped with white. 



ANOTHER example of this genus is the well-known CORA'S SHEAR-TAIL, a remarkably 

 pretty bird, and specially notable for the peculiarity from which it derives its popular name. 

 It inhabits Peru, and is found very plentifully between Callao and Lima. The valley of the 

 Andes is also a favorite residence of this bird. 



In the male, the head and upper parts of the body are golden-green, with the exception 

 of the wings, which are purple-brown. The throat is violet, changing into metallic crimson, 

 and the under parts are grayish -white. The tail is rather curiously shaped. The two central 

 feathers are double the length of the next pair, and the remaining feathers are regularly grad- 

 uated, the exterior being the shortest. This long tail is Only found in the male bird, the tail 

 of the female being of the ordinary length. 



SEVERAL of the Humming birds are remarkable for a tuft of pure white downy feathers 

 which envelop each leg, and which has obtained for them the popular title of Puff -legs, because 

 the white tufts bear some resemblance to a powder-puff. The generic name Eriocnemis is given 

 to the bird in allusion to this peculiarity, and is formed of two Greek words, the former signi- 

 fying wool or cotton, arid the other the thigh. Owing to the very curious effect of these tufts, 

 the Puff-legs are in great demand among the dealers, as they look remarkably well in a case 

 of stuffed birds. 



The COPPER-BELLIED PUFF-LEG is an inhabitant of Santa Fe de Bogota, and is a very 

 common bird in that locality. It may easily be found, as it is a remarkably local bird, being 

 confined to a narrow strip or belt of land, which possesses the requisite characteristics of tem- 

 perature and vegetation. 



It must here be remarked that in the mountainous districts where this and many other 

 species of Humming-birds are found, every degree of temperature may be obtained within the 

 compass of a few miles by merely ascending or descending the lofty mountains which form the 

 greater part of the country. A few hours' journey will bring the traveller through every 

 shade of climate, from the perpetual snow and ice at the summit, to the moderate tempera- 

 tures of the middle regions, and the tropical heat of the mountain's foot. This circumstance 

 must be borne in mind, as we shall find, on examining the habits of many of these birds, that 

 the conditions requisite for their maintenance are very capricious, and that a belt of land a 



