THE GREAT CRESTED COQUETTE. 265 



brilliant ornament worn by the Coquette for 

 such it is consists of a splendid orange crest of 

 a shining red, and the feathers of which rise up 

 into a point. Nothing can exceed the beauty of 

 this sparkling crest, as it glitters in the sun. It 

 gives to the bird an appearance that can hardly 

 be described. 



The Coquette has even been spoken of as a 

 " winged flame." 



In the Picture, it is poising over a flower. Its 

 wings appear motionless, but in reality they beat 

 with such swiftness that the eye cannot catch 

 their movements. The bird utters a cry that 

 sounds like the word " Hour, hour;" and its bill, 

 like a dagger, is ready to be plunged into the flower 

 the moment it perceives an insect. Now and then 

 the bird has been seen to attack the flower itself, 

 and tear it in pieces, like some beautiful fury. 



The home of the Coquette is in the country 

 of Bolivia, and along the banks of the great 

 rivers. 



For the rivers in America, like the mountains 

 and the plains, are on a scale of the utmost mag- 



