HUMMING-BIRD. 



under coverts of the tail, is of the same colour. The 

 gorget is rich purple, or ultramarine blue in some 

 lights, and formed of scaly feathers ; below it there 

 is an irregular band of white, extending backwards on 

 each side of the neck till the two ends nearly meet ; 

 and below this there is a pretty large patch of bright 

 yellow, broadest on the breast, but extending on the 

 sides of the lower neck and the shoulders as far back 

 as the patch of white. The wings and tail are purple 

 brown ; the former long in proportion to the size and 

 weight of the body, but short as compared with the 

 tail. The tail itself is the most remarkable part of 

 the whole structure ; and is not very well expressed 

 by the English epithet, half-tailed. The French 

 name " singular" is more expressive of it; because 

 all the appendage that nature bestows upon any par- 

 ticular species of bird is, of course, a whole tail, 

 whether it consists of a number of feathers or of one 

 only. This one consists only of six, unless we are to 

 admit the last coverts to be reckoned as tail feathers ; 

 and even the two longest of those green ones are so 

 short in comparison that they appear like coverts to 

 the produced ones ; and they do this the more by 

 being of the same colour with the back ; while the 

 produced ones, being of the same purple brown as the 

 wings, contrast strongly with them. The external 

 tail feathers are the longest, and they diverge at the 

 points ; while the other two reach to about two-thirds 

 of their length. All these four feathers are narrow, 

 and of equal length throughout, only they are rounded 

 off at the points. By a very little contrivance, a 

 figure of this bird may be readily converted into a 

 most ludicrous caricature of a human being. All that 

 has to be done is to turn the figure with the tail feathers 

 directly downwards, lay a little slip of paper over the 

 head and neck of the bird as far as the shoulders, con- 

 tinue the same tint of green upon the paper in the 

 form of the collar of a coat, paint the back of a 

 human head above this collar, and the caricature is 

 complete, representing a most singular being with a 

 green coat and epaulettes, and purple brown sleeves, 

 with trowsers of the same upon long stilt-like legs ; 

 for the skirts and pocket-flaps of the coat are very 

 well made out by the two green tail feathers and their 

 coverts. 



BAR-TAILED HUMMING-BIRD (C. sparganurus). 

 This is a most singular species, and considerably 

 larger than many of the others. It is understood to 

 inhabit a considerable extent of the table-land of the 

 Andes, both in Mexico and Peru ; but it has not hitherto 

 been found in any of the coast countries or the islands. 

 The bill is a little bent, awl-shaped, and very sharp 

 at the point The upper parts are golden green, with 

 a slight tinge of purplish brown ; the under part from 

 the bill to the middle of the belly is bright emerald 

 green, peculiarly rich on the middle of the throat, 

 and composed of scaly feathers which extend along 

 the whole of the breast. The lower part of the belly 

 is all green, and the vent feathers greyish white. The 

 rump is clear and rich red, but without any metallic 

 lustre, and the feathers have not a scaly appearance. 

 The tail, however, is the most singular part of this 

 bird. It consists of two parts, standing at an angle 

 to each other like the letter V. The outside feather 

 in each branch is very long, not less than six inches. 

 The second feather is only about three inches and a 

 half, the third a little more than two inches, the 

 iourth shorter than that, and the last one about three 

 quarters of an inch. The principal colour of these 



feathers is bright reddish orange, of a very brilliant 

 metallic lustre, and varying in different lights through 

 different shades from red to yellow. There is a black 

 bar across the end of each feather, which shortens as 

 the feathers shorten. This bar is carried down the 

 outer margin of ever}' feather except the first arid 

 second, and the basal two thirds of the first has also 

 the outer margin black. Where the margin is black, 

 the shaft of the feather ig also black, and where there 

 is no black margin, the shaft is relieved by a slender 

 black line upon each side. Altogether, it is one of 

 the most singular appendages to be met with in the 

 whole feathered creation ; and though we are not 

 very weli informed with regard to the manners of 

 many of the family, the strong fortification of coverts 

 which this tail possesses would lead us to conclude 

 that it is capable of some corresponding action which 

 is essential to the economy of the bird, 



NUNA HUMMING-BIED (C. NuiHt). This species 

 has some resemblance to the preceding one in its 

 general form, and the development of the several 

 parts, especially the tail, but it is of much smaller 

 size, the bill and body only measuring two inches, 

 and the tail three. In its colouring it is very beau- 

 tiful. The whole of the upper part is a fine emerald 

 green, with rich golden reflections, and the general 

 ground colour of the under part is pure white. But 

 this under part is very beautifully marked with cir- 

 cular spots of emerald green, one upon the tip of 

 each feather, and these show very richly upon the 

 pure white ground. These are most perfect, and 

 become gradually faint and clouded towards the lower i 

 part of the belly, till the colour passes gradually into 

 bright chestnut on the under coverts of the tail. The 

 tail feathers are of considerable breadth for the six.e 

 of the bird, and they increase in length from the 

 middle to the outer ones, in the same manner as in 

 the bar-tailed species. The colours are, however, , 

 more varied. The middle ones are purple brown on 

 the basal part, steel blue beyond that, and terminated 

 by a bar of very beautiful green. The lateral feathers 

 have the tips deep steel blue, and the outer web 

 white for the basal half of their length. The young- 

 have the colour broken by grey on the upper part, 

 and brownish red on the under. Hitherto, we believe, 

 specimens of this very handsome species have been 

 obtained only from Peru ; but it is probable that they 

 occur also in Brazil. 



LANGSDORFF'S HUMMING-BIRD (C. Langsdorffii). 

 Is a Brazilian species, and as remarkable for its 

 beauty as for the singular form of the tail feathers. : 

 The bill is of moderate length, very slender and de- 

 pressed at the base. The upper part is a delicate 

 subdued golden green ; the gorget consists of scale- 

 formed feathers of the same general tint, but giving 

 out brilliant reflections in different lights. On the 

 under part, this is bordered by a crescent of bright 

 orange, which has reflections of golden yellow and of 

 red. The lower part of the breast is intense blue ; 

 the belly brownish violet ; and the vent feathers, under 

 the tail coverts, pure white, which ascends on the 

 hinder part of the flank, and, uniting on the lower 

 part of the back, separates the green on the rump 

 from that on the rest of the body. The wings are 

 purplish grey with a dash of orange on the turn. The 

 tail feathers are ten in number, six in the middle, 

 which are deep blue, broad at the bases and narrow 

 at the points, the two middle ones comparatively 

 short, and the others longer and more pointed in sue- 



