GOULD'S COQUETTE. 219 



purple ; and it wears on its neck a frill of long 

 white feathers tipped with golden-green. 



There is a strong likeness said to exist be- 

 tween the Humming- Birds and some of the 

 insect tribe. The Humming-Bird seems more 

 allied to the moth or the butterfly than to the rest 

 of the birds. There is one moth so much like it, 

 that the naturalist has been known to shoot it by 

 mistake for the tiny gem we have been describing. 

 It is called the "humming-bird hawk-moth." It 

 is rather smaller than the Humming-Bird, but 

 has just the same habits. It darts and whirls 

 about with wonderful quickness, and hovers over 

 the iiower just as the bird does. 



It has a long trunk or proboscis, which it thrusts 

 into the flower in search of food. At the end of 

 its body is a tuft or brush, which, when spread 

 open, is not unlike the tail of a bird. 



The natives of Brazil seem much struck with 

 the likeness we are speaking of. They believe that 

 the moth turns into the bird, and that the bird was 

 first a moth. They tried to impress their fancy on 

 a naturalist who was visiting that part of the world. 



