The Swifts 561 



Hardly so beautiful but more curiously adorned is Princess Helena's Coquette 

 (L. helencE.} of Mexico and Central America. In this the Lapwing-like crest is 

 green, the throat glittering green set in a black border; from each side of the 

 occiput spring three long hair-like black plumes, while on each side of the neck 

 is a tuft or ruff of black feathers streaked with buff. 



The Adorable Coquette (L. adorabilis] inhabits parts of Costa Rica and Ve- 

 ragua. It has the forehead dull ruby-red or copper-color, the very pointed crest 

 snow-white, and a tuft of pointed feathers on each side of the head greenish black. 



The Spangled Coquette (L. stictolophus] has a very conspicuous, almost fan- 

 shaped crest of a bright rufous color, dotted or spangled with emerald-green. 



The Frilled Coquette (L. ornatus) has the forehead and throat rich metallic 

 green; the crest of pointed feathers, chestnut; and from each side of the neck 

 project lengthened narrow feathers of a rufous color, each with an expanded tip 

 of metallic green. 



The Coquette Hummingbirds are all of small size, most of them less than 

 three inches long, and none of them much over that length, and, together with the 

 genera Popelairia and Discura, constitute a strongly marked group or section 

 of the family, strikingly characterized by the presence, in both sexes, of a distinct 

 band of white or buff across the rump, a feature wanting in all other genera. 



The Sun-gem (Heliactin cornuta) of Brazil is one of the most curious as well 

 as beautiful of Hummingbirds, and is furthermore unique in both form and 

 plumage. The tail is long and wedge-shaped, and the head is ornamented by a 

 flattened tuft of broad imbricated feathers springing from each side of the occiput, 

 the color of these tufts being a glowing metallic scarlet, passing into golden yel- 

 low at the tips. The forehead and crown are shining greenish blue, the throat 

 velvety black, the rest of the under parts mostly white, and the upper parts 

 bronzy green certainly not a very extraordinary coloration for a Humming- 

 bird; but in the flattened head-tufts mentioned, there seems to be concen- 

 trated enough splendor of color to make up for the absence of brilliancy from 

 the rest of the plumage, and quite justifying the name which has been given the 

 bird. 



Snow-caps. In the mountains of Veragua and Costa Rica dwell two little 

 Hummingbirds called 'Snow-caps' (Microchera\ which are altogether unlike 

 any others in their coloration. The whole top of the head is snow-white, while 

 the rest of the plumage is rich plum-purple (in M. parvirostris} or blue-black 

 (M. albicoronata). This coloration is remarkable for its chaste simplicity, and 

 the little creatures which wear it, hardly half as big as our Ruby-throat (Trochilus 

 colubris}, are certainly unique in their dainty loveliness." 



THE SWIFTS 



(Family Micro podidce) 



To the unpractised eye the Swifts, of which our common Chimney Swift may 

 be taken as a typical example, would seem to be very closely related to the 



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