802 



HUMMING-BIRD. 



tailed one which was known to Europeans, it has got 

 possession of the name. It is four inches in length ; 

 and as the tail is not so long in proportion as some 

 of the others, the body is longer, and it is also thicker. 

 The upper parts are golden blue in the middle, pass- 

 ing into golden green on the wings and the tail, and 

 into the same colour with a trace of brown on the 

 head; the vent feathers are grey; the gorget on the 

 throat is of a beautiful amethyst purple ; the middle 

 of the under part is pure white; and though the 

 upper part generally appears blue in some lights, it 

 appears golden green in others. It occurs pretty 

 generally in the northern parts of South America, 

 from Brazil westward, and also in the West India 

 islands ; but though it has been long known, its habits 

 have not been ascertained, neither have the colours 

 of the female or the young been accurately determined. 

 BLUE-BELLIED HUMMING-BIRD WITH TOOTHED BILL 

 ( C. thalastimus). This is a Mexican species, about 

 five inches in length, with the tail very fully deve- 

 loped, and the wings very long, narrow, and bent. 

 There is not a great deal of variety or strong contrast 

 in the colours ; but they are rich and beautiful. The 

 general colour of the upper part of the body is very 

 dark green, with golden reflections of rich metallic 

 lustre. The gorget upon the centre of the throat 

 varies from deep velvet black to bright emerald green, 

 with metallic reflections ; and this gradually passes 

 into a fine azure blue on the ear-tufts. The tail is 

 greyish blue with metallic lustre, and crossed by a 

 bar of deep indigo blue near the extremity. The bill 

 is slightly bent, and both mandibles are toothed for a 

 short distance near the tip. The bill is of a black 

 colour, as are also the feet. The young males are 

 without the rich blue on the ear-tufts and the sides of 

 the neck ; and in them the whole of the upper part 

 is mixed with greyish bine, much more than in those 

 which are full grown. The female is understood to 

 have the flanks and vent feathers dull grey, and the 

 under tail coverts reddish white, and also to be with- 

 out any of the rich blue on the sides of the neck or 

 the lower part of the breast. This is rather a rare 



species. 



GIGANTIC HUMMING-BTKD (C. 



This is the 



are brownish green, with green reflections ; the under 

 parts are of a dull pale reddish, mottled with a darker 

 tint, and passing into dull green on the flanks. The 

 head and upper part of the throat have a mottled 

 appearance ; and though there is no beauty of colour 

 in the fore-neck, the feathers have the scaly form 

 which belongs to the males of almost all the family ; 

 and as their margins are of a paler tint than the cen- 

 tral parts, this part also appears slightly mottled. 

 The tail consists of ten feathers, of a greenish brown 

 colour, with reflections of golden green, but not very 

 brilliant. Altogether, indeed, this bird is more sober 

 in its plumage than almost any other of the family. 

 It is, however, a very perfect model of a flying bird. 

 The closed wings extend beyond the extremities of 

 the tail, and their form and their feathers are alike 

 fitted for the most vigorous flight. The pectoral 

 muscles are also very large, in order to give motion 

 to the powerful wings upon which the strength of the 

 bird is concentrated. The feet, on the other hand, 

 are remarkably small, and appear quite dispropor- 

 tioned to the size of the bird. In the male the quills 

 of the wings are said to be violet brown, without any 

 mixture of other colours ; and in the female they are 

 said to have pale russet colour on the margins ; but 

 there is a good deal of confusion about the descrip- 

 tions of these birds. 



There are a good many more species described as 

 belonging to this sub-division ; but some of them are 

 doubtful, and all of them but little known, and there- 

 fore the list which we have given may perhaps be 

 considered as sufficient for the general reader. It is 

 only now that America, more especially the tropical 

 and southern parts of it, is beginning^to be examined 

 with anything like zeal and science united ; and as 

 the harvest of discovery in the natural history of 

 birds, and in every other department of nature, can- 

 not fail in being very rich, we may confidently expect 

 that, in the course of a few years, we shall be as well 

 acquainted with the habits of American animals, and 

 humming-birds among the rest, as we are now igno- 

 rant of them. 



SUB-DIVISION III. PJuethorms. The general cha- 

 racters of this sub-division are the bill long, tapering 



largest humming-bird which has hitherto been disco- i to the point, and considerably arched ; and the tail 

 vered. It is at least eight inches in length, and j long and wedge shaped, or stayed by each feather 

 stoutly made, remarkable for the length and strength being a little longer than the one exterior of it, as in 



of its wings, and the firmness and regularity of its 

 tail, which last organ is rather deeply but regularly 

 forked at the tip. From its large size, it has been 

 called " the Patagonian ;" and it is rather curious 

 that if it is not found actually within Patagonia, it is 

 found close upon the borders of it. The first know- 

 ledge that was obtained of it in Europe was from a 

 specimen brought by the gallant but unfortunate 

 Lord Byron from the country of the Araucanians, 

 the whole of which lies beyond the thirty-seventh 

 degree of south latitude. It is also common in the 

 interior of Chili, but it is understood to be rare 

 nearer the equator, and not found in the northern 



the magpie. 



SUPERCILIOUS HUMMING-BIRD (P. supercilosus). 

 The bill of this species is very long, and tapers gra- 

 dually to the tip, being also considerably bent. The 

 male and female differ considerably from each other 

 in size, in the general colours of the plumage, and in 

 the general form of the tail feathers ; the upper part 

 is bronzed green, with a brownish tint ; the side of 

 the head is marked by two patches of reddish white, 

 one passing from the base of the upper mandible to 

 the ear covert, and the other consisting of a spot im- 

 mediately over the eye, and ft is from the latter that 

 the bird gets the name of supercilious, or eye- browed ; 



parts of South America, though it was once consi- the throat and upper part of the breast are covered 

 dered as being a Brazilian bird. Its colours are not with scaly feathers, but these have no brilliant tint, 

 nearly so bright as many of the smaller species ; and j the whole of the under part being a subdued brownish 

 it is described as being without any brilliant gorget white, very soft and delicate, but without much 

 or produced feathers. It is an inhabitant of the wild beauty ; the tail is wedge shaped, but contains two 

 woods, in which it is not frequently seen ; and produced feathers which extend an inch and a half 

 therefore its manners, or the changes of plumage it beyond the others, and are very straight and narrow ; 

 may undergo, are very imperfectly known. The top the tail is bronzed green, deepening toward the ex- 

 of the head, the back, and the coverts of the wings, | tremities of the feathers, which are lancet shaped, and 



