560 ' The Roller-like Birds 



effect by their striking contrast. ' The accompanying plate,' says Mr. Gould, 

 ' is intended to represent one of the most beautiful of the TrochilidcB yet discov- 

 ered. I say intended, for whatever success may have attended my attempts 

 to convey an idea of the beauty of these living gems, I must confess that the 

 means at my command are utterly inadequate to do justice to the present species, 

 whose crown, back, shoulders, and chest-sides are clothed with hues of metallic 

 blue and green of such resplendent brilliancy that it is quite impossible to repre- 

 sent them on paper.' 



Princess Helena's Hummer. Of the West Indian Hummingbirds the most 

 exquisite is Princess Helena's Hummer (Calypte helena} of Cuba. This is the 

 very smallest of known birds, being even less than the Mellisuga minima of 

 Jamaica and Haiti, which has hitherto enjoyed the distinction of being con- 

 sidered the smallest of existing birds. Princess Helena's Hummingbird is rich 

 metallic blue above (a very unusual color in this family) and white beneath, the 

 entire head, including the gorget with its ruff-like lateral projections, being the 

 most beautiful metallic rose-red or crimson. 



Purple Carib. A much larger species belonging to the Lesser Antilles, the 

 Purple Carib (Eulampis jugularis), however, contests the claim of the little 

 Cuban gem to be considered the most richly colored of Antillean Hummers. 

 The Purple Carib has the upper parts velvety black, except the wings and upper 

 tail-coverts, which are of a burnished bluish green hue, while the throat and 

 breast are of a rich garnet-purple. 



Long-tailed Hummer. The most remarkable, however, of the West Indian 

 Hummingbirds is the Long-tailed Hummer (Aithurus polytmus\ which Mr. 

 Gosse styles 'the gem of Jamaica Ornithology,' adding that 'its slender form, 

 velvet crest, emerald bosom, and lengthened tail-plumes render it one of the most 

 elegant even of this most brilliant family.' 



Mountain Nymph. A truly noble Hummingbird is the Mountain Nymph 

 (Oreonympha nobilis] of the Peruvian highlands, a bird approaching the Giant 

 Hummer (Patagona gigas} in size, but otherwise not to be compared with that 

 somberly clad species. The Mountain Nymph is about seven inches in length, 

 of which about half is taken by the deeply forked but broad-feathered tail. The 

 forehead and side of the head are black, the rest of the head dark blue ; the throat 

 is metallic emerald-green, the lower portion ornamented by a beard-like tuft of 

 lengthened feathers of a rich metallic reddish purple. The upper parts of the 

 body are bronzy, the lower parts white. 



Coquettes. The most elaborately decorated Hummingbirds belong to the 

 group known as Coquettes (Lophornis and Polemistria), on account of their 

 frilled, ruffled, and bespangled plumage, their ornamentations being confined 

 to the head and neck. There are about ten species (of which all but three occur 

 only south of the Isthmus of Panama), the most beautiful of which is, perhaps, the 

 Frilled Coquette (L. magnificus) of Brazil. In this there is a fan-like ruff or 

 frill on each side of the neck of snowy white, but each feather tipped with a 

 crescent-shaped bar of glittering green; the crest, of pointed feathers, is rich 

 chestnut or rufous, while the throat and forehead are emerald-green. 



