148 RUBY-CRESTED HUMMING-BIRD. 



the most brilliant topaz yellow. It is impossible to 

 convey by words the idea of these tints ; and having 

 mentioned those substances to which they approach 

 nearest, imagination must be left to conceive the 

 rest. The other parts of this bird are darkly coloured ; 

 the back and rump, breast and belly, are a rich 

 brown, with scarcely any variation of colour, and the 

 vent is pure white. The wings are of the purplish 

 brown, so common in this part to the whole species ; 

 and the tail, broad and expansive, is a fine reddish 

 brown, with a narrow band of a dark shade at the 

 tip. The length IB about three inches and a half. 

 In some species the colour of the back is so dark 

 around the ruby crest, as almost to appear a black 

 band. 



In the birds of one year, the scaly parts on the 

 head and throat are of a brownish gray, a few of the 

 bright feathers here and there appearing, and the 

 other parts of the plumage have generally a lighter 

 tinge. In another specimen which we possess, appa- 

 rently that of a still younger male, the upper parts 

 are of a grayish brown, with rather conspicuous 

 golden green reflections, the under parts of a clear 

 grayish white, darker on the throat and forepart of 

 the breast, and the quills want the purplish lustre. 



The female differs considerably from the male. It 

 is scarcely three inches in length ; above, it is of a 

 brilliant golden green ; the under parts of a clear 

 grayish brown. But the tail shows the greatest dif- 

 ference in markings; the two centre feathers are a 



