236 GOLDEN TAIL. 



of rich dark blue, with a tinge of green. Green 

 and gold adorn the upper surface of the body, and 

 a golden tint flashes with remarkable brilliance 

 from the under parts of the wings. The tail 

 glistens with the richest tint of gold, and the under 

 surface of the body is a shining green. 



This rare creature flits and flashes in the deep 

 forests and open plains, in the gardens and the 

 groves of Brazil. 



But, besides the beautiful birds, the Indian has 

 still another resource for his toilette. The in- 

 sects, in this land of radiant colours, are in their 

 way as splendid as the birds. 



They shine and sparkle like living gold. 

 The Indian will often make his flowers of the 

 lustrous wings of a beetle ; or, treating the insect 

 as if it were a precious stone, will have its body 

 set in gold, like a brooch. And, as if Nature 

 delighted in every form of radiance, and to flash 

 and sparkle with increasing lustre before the eye, 

 here are the whole race of fire-flies gleaming in 

 the darkness like so many stars. 



The Indian is attracted to them as to the beau- 



