456 



NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



The genera Campylopterus, Sphenoproctus and Eupetomana are composed of 

 species characterized by having the shafts of the primaries more or less developed, 

 and greatly flattened in the males. The majority of the species have a portion of 

 their plumage adorned with metallic coloring. The genera are distinguished mainly 

 by the shape of the tail of the various species, this being rounded, cuneate, or deeply 

 forked, in the order of the genera named. A very large and showy species is C'am- 

 pylopterus hemileucurus, with the upper and under surfaces metallic violet-blue, a black 

 tail glossed with green, the outer feathers largely tipped with white. It is extremely 



FIG. 227. Eutoxeres aquila, sickle-billed humming-bird. 



pugnacious, two males rarely meeting without a combat. This generally commences 

 with a sharp shriek, then, with dilated throats and feathers all on end, they fight until 

 one falls to the ground or escapes by flight. The chief damage done in these combats 

 is the splitting of the tongue of one of the contestants, which then surely dies, being 

 no longer able to feed. 



One of the most extensive genera of the Trochilidas is Phcethornis, embracing 

 about twenty-two species. The majority of these are plainly attired without any 

 metallic coloring, and all are chiefly remarkable for their peculiarly shaped tails, the 

 middle feathers of which extend beyond the rest, and are always longest in the 



