HUMMING-BIRD. 



common amethyst colour. There is, however, a 

 good deal of confusion about these birds, arising from 

 their agreement in some respects, and their difference 

 in others ; and a great deal of additional observation 

 will be required before this confusion will be re- 

 moved. 



WHITE-EARED HUMMING-BIRD (C. leucotis). This 

 is a Brazilian species, of small size, but handsome and 

 peculiar in its markings ; the length is not more than 

 three inches ; the bill is not very long, of a yellow 

 colour, and slightly arched ; the forehead, before the 

 eye, the chin, cheeks, and upper sides of the neck, arc 

 azure blue, less conspicuous in the tint on the fore- 

 head where the feathers are small, but becoming more 

 brilliant downwards, as the feathers get larger in size ; 

 the colour on the side of the head to the rear of the 

 eye, is broken by an arch of white which passes over 

 the ear covert, and curves downward, the one nearly 

 meeting ihe other on the back of the neck. It is 

 from the last marking that it receives the name of 

 white-eared. The gorget on the lower neck and 

 breast is bright verdigris, or slightly bluish green ; 

 the hind head is brownish violet, which gradually 

 blends with the golden green on the back ; the under 

 part is brownish green, with a trace of grey ; the 

 quills of the wings purplish ; the tail feathers, which 

 are nearly even at the extremity, of the same colour 

 as the upper part of the bird ; and the vent feathers 

 and under tail coverts pure white. It is by no means 

 common in Brazil, and specimens of it are rare in 

 European collections. 



EVENING HUMMING-BIRD (C. vesper}. This spe- 

 cies has been observed chiefly in the southern Andes, 

 or at least in those elevated plains which lie between 

 those mountains and the sea. Some of the colours of 

 this species are more subdued than they are in most of 

 the others ; but they are beautifully contrasted. The 

 bill is long, slightly curved and enlarged near the 

 point. The upper part is oil green, passing into more 

 of a golden green on the middle of the back and the 

 rump, but without metallic reflections. The breast 

 and belly are white, and so are the under coverts of 

 the tail ; but the flanks and the vent feathers are 

 greyish. There is a small streak of white behind the 

 eye, and another behind the gape ; the wings and tail 

 are deep purplish black, both very long, and the tail 

 much forked. The most beautiful part of the bird, 

 the gorget, which covers the chin and fore neck, con- 

 sists of scale-shaped feathers, and is of that peculiar 

 reddish violet, which changes into bright ruby in the 

 one extreme of reflection, and into rich sapphire blue 

 in the other. 



RACKET-TAILED HUMMING-BIRD (C. plalurus}. 

 There are two distinct species of these birds, both of 

 which have that peculiar structure of the exterior 

 feathers of the tail upon which the trivial name is 

 founded, namely, the feathers very elongated, and 

 the webs gradually tapering away till they are almost 

 obliterated, and then spreading again into an oval 

 disc, which is very distant, not only from the body of 

 the bird, but also from the other feathers of the tail, 

 which, for nearly as long as the body exclusively of 

 the bill, are not half the length of the racket feathers. 



These two species are, the racket- tailed humming- 

 bird, with the tarsi the same as in the rest of the 

 family; and the rough-legged one, with the tarsi 

 feathered down to the toes, or at least clothed with a 

 downy covering in very considerable quantity. 



The racket-tailed humming-bird is deep and 



rather dull green on the upper part, of uniform tint 

 throughout ; it is dull brown, with a greenish tinge, on 

 the under part ; the vent and under coverts of the 

 tail are pure white ; and the chin and throat and 

 upper part of the breast are covered with a gorget of 

 very bright emerald green. The two outside feathers 

 of the tail extend to twice the length of the others, 

 tapering gradually for the greater part of their length, 

 and then terminating in h'rrn broad discs of a black 

 colour, which are nearly round. The wings are long, 

 narrow, and falchion-shaped. Enough is not known 

 of the habits of this singularly formed bird for enabling 

 us to ascertain whether the female also possesses 

 those rack feathers, or whether they are peculiar to 

 the male. Analogy, however, would lead us to con- 

 clude that the latter is the case ; because there are 

 comparatively few birds in which the female has any 

 supplemental feathers in the tail. The remaining tail 

 feathers are gradually shorter towards the middle, and 

 form a slight fork ; but when the racket feathers are 

 taken into account, the tail is very much forked. 

 These birds are rare, and little is known respecting 

 them, farther than that they have been brought to 

 Europe from Guiana. 



The rough-leffged humming-bird is more hand- 

 some in the colouring than the smooth-legged racket- 

 tail. All the upper parts are very rich golden green, 

 with the exception of a white bar on the rump ; and 

 the two middle feathers of the tail are of the same 

 colour. The gorget, which is very bright emerald 

 green, descends far down on the breast, as does also 

 the green of the back on the sides and flanks, which 

 passes into deep brownish green on the middle of the 

 belly. There are feathers on the tarsi, and also on the 

 tibiae, and though those feathers are formed of very 

 small filaments, those filaments are not downy, like 

 the feathering on the tarsi of the birds of cold coun- 

 tries. They partake of that firmness of texture which 

 characterises the general plumage of the humming- 

 birds. This covering of the feet is a peculiarity among 

 birds 4 and therefore it is to be regretted that we do 

 not know either the habits, or the native country of 

 this species, farther than that it is American ; and, 

 therefore, we can form no conclusion respecting the 

 purpose which this formation, of which it is the soli- 

 tary instance in a very numerous family, answers in 

 the economy of the bird. Besides the difference in 

 the colour and the more remarkable difference in the 

 tarsi, of which we have taken notice, there is a con- 

 siderable difference in the shape of the rackets in 

 which the tails of these birds terminate : in the one 

 with a naked tarsi, these are nearly round ; but in 

 the other they are oval, or rather sub-oval, with 

 pointed extremities. 



HALF-TAILED HUMMING-BIRD (C. erricurui). This 

 is a very gracefully formed, though remarkably slen- 

 der bird. It measures about four inches and a quarter 

 in length, of which more than one half is occupied by 

 the tail, and at least a third of the remainder by the 

 bill. The bill is slender, a little enlarged near the tip, 

 but remarkably sharp pointed. It is very slightly 

 bent. The body is elongated, and gracefully tapered 

 off" towards the tail. The tarsi and toes are very 

 slender. The upper parts of the body, including the 

 coverts of the wings, and the two middle feathers of 

 the tail, as well as the last coverts of the taij, which, 

 though short, consist of two feathers similar in struc- 

 ture to the others, are golden green ; and all the under 

 part from the middle of the breast, including the 



