166 SUN-BIRDS IN JAVA. 



another patch of steel blue ; and there is a band 

 of purple round part of the neck. 



Another beautiful bird has a crown of golden 

 green on the upper part of its head ; and its 

 breast and the lower part of its body are of a rich 

 crimson purple. On either side are tufts of 

 brilliant blue. 



The bird is a tiny creature, scarcely four inches 

 long, and is supposed to live nowhere but in Java. 



Java is essentially a forest country. It is 

 clothed with dense and mighty forests, that, 

 except in certain portions, reach from the sea- 

 shore to the summit of the highest mountains. 



The mountains are, nearly all of them, vol- 

 canoes; and Java contains more volcanoes, for its 

 size, than any other tract of country in the world. 



These volcanic mountains are formed of the 

 ashes, and lava, and mud, which from time to time 

 have been thrown up from the different craters, 

 and have by degrees accumulated. Indeed, the 

 whole island seems to owe its existence to this 

 cause ; and its richness and fertility make it one of 

 the gardens of the Eastern world. 



