808 H U M M I N 



TOPAZ-THROATED HUMMING-BIRD (L.Pella). This 

 is one of the most beautiful of these birds, and it dif- 

 fers from most others of the sub-divisions in having 

 two produced feathers in the tail, having short and 

 silky webs. Its wings are remarkably sharp pointed ; 

 and though the tail, with the exception of the pro- 

 duced feathers to which we have alluded, is rounded, 

 vet it appears that the bird can turn on these feathers, 

 and the sharp points of its wings, much in the same 

 manner that a swallow turns. Its habit also corres- 

 ponds ; for, instead of hovering over flowers as is 

 done by most of the humming-birds, this one is de- 

 scribed as beating along the surface of the waters, 

 something in the same style as the martens do, and 

 living upon small-winged insects. It is found in the 

 humid and rich parts of tropical America ; and 

 nothing can exceed the splendour of its plumage, as 

 it dashes along over the margins of the streams, or 

 perches on the slender twigs which overhang their 

 banks. It is a bird of considerable size, at least as 

 compared with the other humming birds ; for it is five 

 inches and a half in length exclusive of the two pro- 

 duced feathers in the tail, which are fully three inches 

 more. It is exceedingly difficult to say what is the 

 colour of the body, for it is all over one colour, and 

 yet in different positions of the light every part of it 

 is all colours. It is entirely composed of scaly 

 feathers, similar in texture to those which we have 

 noticed as forming the gorgets of so many of the 

 genus ; and whenever those feathers occur, we are 

 always certain of obtaining a great variety of colours 

 by exposure to different lights. The unrefracted 

 colour of the body is a sort of brown ; but the reflec- 

 tions which it gives out vary from the brightest golden 

 yellow to the most intense ruby red, the former being 

 the prevailing lustre in the under part of the bird, 

 and the latter that in the upper part ; while between 

 the one and the other there is a continual play along 

 the sides of the flanks, which has the most beautiful 

 effect that can be imagined. The prevailing colour 

 of the gorget is topaz yellow, which becomes emerald 

 green in oblique lights, deepening towards the extremi- 

 ties, until it passes into a margin of velvet black, 

 which again gradually melts into the general colour 

 of the body. The tail is bright chestnut on the under 

 side, and golden green on the upper, with reflections 

 of bright red. The two produced feathers are pur- 

 plish black, as are also the quills of the wings. The 

 short feathers of the tail are rounded at the extremity, 

 but the bird has considerable power over the two pro- 

 duced ones, so that it sometimes brings them together 

 at the middle as if they were but one feather, and at 

 other times extends them as if the tail were deeply 

 forked. The tarsi are feathered down to the articu- 

 lation of the toes ; and the feet, though small, are 

 stout and well adapted for perching. 



The female is smaller than the male, and differently 

 coloured ; the plumage in that sex being green with 

 metallic lustre, but subdued by a greyish tinge. The 

 gorget is much less distinct than in the male bird, and 

 its colours vary from brown to golden yellow. The 

 vent feathers also are grey, the outer tail feathers 

 dull green, the next to them violet, and the remain- 

 ing ones chestnut colour. The young are without 

 the produced feathers in the tail. They have the 

 plumage above of a bright green colour, marked by 

 blotches of ruby reflections ; the under part partakes 

 more of red, and the reflections on it vary from green 

 to orange. The brilliant gorget does not appear 



G - B I R D. 



until the birds have arrived at maturity. This singu- 

 larly beautiful species is rendered a little more per- 

 plexing by changes of plumage, to which it is subject 

 in different individuals. These are rare ; but they 

 do occur in blotches of pale colour ; and when this 

 takes place, the remaining tint is different from that 

 of birds, in which there is no breaking of the colour. 

 Altogether, however, it is one of the most beautiful 

 in the whole multitude of the feathered race. 



WHITE-COLLARED HUMMING-BIRD (L. mel/ivorus). 

 This species is common in many of the West-India 

 islands, and also in the adjoining parts of the conti- 

 nent of South America. It is fond of low and marshy 

 situations, where it flies low, and has some of the 

 habits of the bee-eaters. The male bird has the fore- 

 head, the cheeks, and the ear-coverts, and also the 

 throat, of a very rich blue, the nape and upper part 

 generally golden green, a crescent-shaped spot of 

 pure white on the hind neck, with the points directed 

 toward the eyes, but not reaching them, the space 

 from the gape across the eye being marked by a nar- 

 row line of black. The under parts are white, as are 

 also the feathers of the tail, with the exception of the 

 tips, and a narrow portion of the outer margins, and 

 these are black. When the tail is in a state of repose, 

 it is divided into two lobes, curving slightly outwards 

 from each other, and forming a sort of fork, at the 

 extremity of each lobe of which each feather is a little 

 shorter than the one immediately under it, thus show- 

 ing alternate narrow arches of black and white. When 

 the bird is in action each lobe of the tail expands, but 

 it still retains a slight appearance of being forked. 

 The upper coverts also partake of this forked cha- 

 racter, forming two lancet-shaped points of green, 

 which come out very beautifully upon the white 

 feathers under them. In the female the colours are 

 different, the under part being grey ; and the green 

 extending to the tips of the middle tail feathers, and 

 over a considerable portion of the basal part of the 

 rest. These last, however, have white tips, and within 

 the white a band of blue separating it from the green. 

 The colours are, however, subject to several variations 

 in the species generally, and more especially in the 

 female ; so that they are not so much to be depended 

 on as in many of the other species. The form of the 

 tail is, however, a character which is not easily mis- 

 taken. 



BLACK-BREASTED HUMMING-BIRD (L. graminciu). 

 Buffbn and some of the earlier describers have named 

 this as if it were a Mexican species, from which it 

 might be concluded that its general habits differ from 

 those which we have just described, and to which it 

 bears a very close resemblance in its structure. They 

 are birds of humid places, and dryness is the prevail- 

 ing character of Mexico. The name, however, is a 

 mere mistake of the describers ; for the bird is found 

 in the West-India islands and the northern parts of 

 South America, where, like the others of the section, 

 it prefers the low and marshy grounds and the mar- 

 gins of the waters. According to Vieillot, it " delights 

 in the vicinity of inhabited places, which it rarely 

 quits as long as the trees and shrubs continue in 

 bloom ; it generally perches on a stray or withered 

 twig, where it expands its tail. I have never heard 

 it sing ; but while flying, and especially during the 

 season of incubation, it utters a continued cry, which 

 often betrays it before it would otherwise be disco- 

 vered. This little bird will seldom allow others to 

 approach the tree on which its nest is built. The 



