The Emerald Hummixg-bird.- 



-BIEDS.- 



-TiiE Giant HiisiMiNG-ninr). 



309 



DE LALANDE'S CRESTED HUMMING-BIRD ( Troc/ii'/iis 

 Drl,i/ani/i)^V\atii 8, tiy. 2G— is an iiihabitmit of the 

 Bouthorn part of Bi'azil. It is about tlie same size as 

 the preceding species, but tlie male is remarkable for 

 possessing a long crest, tei'rainating in a single slender 

 plume, upon the head. The whole crown of the head, 

 including the crest, is of a brilliant metallic green colour, 

 but the long single feather terminating the crest is 

 black. The upper surface is bronzed gi'een ; the breast 

 and abdomen are of an intense shining violet-blue 

 colour ; the sides of the neck, the flanks, and under 

 tail-coverts are brownish-grey ; the quill feathers of 

 the wings purplish-brown, and those of the tail black, 

 except the middle ones, which are green. The female 

 has the whole lower surface dull greyish-brown, and 

 is destitute of the elongated crest. The nest of this 

 species is suspended from the fine twigs of bamboos, 

 and ]irobabIy of other plants ; it is composed of fine 

 fibrous roots, moss, and lichens, together with the in- 

 viihicres of a composite plant, matted together with 

 fine Cobwebs. Several nearly allied species with simi- 

 lar crests are described by Mr. Gould, who forms tliein 

 into a genus under the name of Cephalepis ; they are 

 called by him in English Plover-crests, from the simi- 

 larity of the crest to that of the plover. 



THE LONG -TAILED EMERALD HUMMING-BIRD 

 {Troc/iilus jxAiitiHUs) appears to be peculiar to the 

 island of Jamaica, amongst the many brilliant-feathered 

 inhabitants of which it is regarded by Mr. Gosse as 

 the most beautiful. The general colour of the plumage 

 of the male is a fine metallic green, most brilliant on 

 the breast and abdomen ; the whole top of the head is 

 deep black, as is also the tail ; the quill feathers of the 

 wings and the under tail-coverts are purplish-black ; 

 and the bill is coral-red with a black tip. The length 

 of the bird, from the tip of the bill to that of the ordi- 

 nary tail feathers, is five inches ; but beyond this two of 

 the feathers of the tail are prolonged for a distance of 

 nearly six inches, forming long streamers, which float 

 behind the bird in its rapid flight. The female is des- 

 titute of these elongated feathers, and has the lower 

 surface white. Of the beautiful appearance of this 

 bird in its native haunts, Mr. Gosse has given us the 

 following eloquent description : — " The beautiful Long- 

 tailed Hunnning-bird," he says, " came shooting by 

 with its two long violet-black feathers floating like 

 streamers behind it, and began to suck at the blossoms 

 of the tree in which I was. Quite regardless of my 

 presence, consciously secure in its power of wing, the 

 luvely little gem hovered around the trunk, and threaded 

 the branches, now probing here and there, its cloudy 

 wings on each .side vibrating with a noise like that of a 

 spinning-wheel, and its emerald breast for a moment 

 flashing brilliantly in the sun's ray ; then apparently 

 black, all the light being absorbed ; then, as it slightly 

 tm-ned, becoming a dark olive ; then, in an instant, 

 blazing forth again in emerald eftulgence. Several 

 times it came close to me, as I sat motionless with 

 delight, and hoMing my breath for fear of alarming it 

 and driving it away ; it seemed almost worUi a voyage 

 across the sea to behold so radiant a creature in all the 

 wildness of its native freedom." 



THE TUFTED COftUETTE [Lox>hornis ornatus). The 



male of this beautiful little species is adorned on each 

 side of the neck with a tuft of long, narrow plumes, 

 of a light chestnut-red colour, each terminated by a 

 brilliant spot of emerald green ; these plumes form a 

 triangular ruff on each side of the neck. The crown 

 of the head lu:ars a rich chestnut-red crest, and the 

 face and throat are emerald green. This species is 

 widely distributed over the low districts of tropical 

 America. 



GOULD'S COaUETTE [Lophornis Gouklii), a nearly 

 allied but rare species, has the neck tufts pure white, 

 with emerald green tips to the feathers. There are 

 several otlier species of the genus Lojjhornis, but to 

 these our space forbids our alluding. 



THE RUBY AND TOPAZ HUMMING-BtRD {C/iry- 

 solampis rnoschitus), one of the commonest species of 

 the group of Humming-birds, specimens of which are 

 imported into Europe by thousands, is found abundantly 

 in Brazil and Guiana. Common as it is, however, the 

 male is an exceedingly beautiful bird, the wliole top of 

 his head being of a brilliant ruby-red, and the chin, 

 throat, and breast golden or topaz yellow ; the rest of 

 the plumage exhibits difl'erent shades of brown, and the 

 tail is of a rich dark chestnut-red. The nest is cup- 

 shaped, composed of cottony materials, and adorned 

 with fragments of lichens on the outside. 



THE GIAHT HUMMING-BIRD {Patagona r/i'yaa), the 

 largest species of this family, measures between eight 

 and nine inches in length ; but as the tail is compara- 

 tively short, its bulk is far greater than that of some 

 other species which approach it in total length, but in 

 which the taU feathers are much elongated. It is of a 

 pale brown colour with a greenish gloss above, and 

 reddish beneath ; die wings, which are very long, reach- 

 ing nearly to the extremity of the tafl, are blackish- 

 brown. This species migrates to the southward from 

 the equatorial regions of South America, wdiere it has 

 been met with at an elevation of from twelve to four- 

 teen thousand feet, and passes along the chain of tlie 

 Andes through Chili into the country of the Araucanos. 

 Its flight is extremely bold and vigorous, as might be 

 expected from the length and form of its wings, which 

 resemble those of the Swift ; but it is nevertheless 

 able to flit with ease from flower to flower, and to poise 

 itself in the air while examining their recesses for 

 its insect food. The nest is eup-shaped, rather large, 

 and constructed of mosses, lichens, and other similar 

 materials, held together, as usual in the Humming-birds, 

 by cobwebs ; it is placed on the forked branch of a tree 

 or shrub, generally overhanging a rapid stream of water. 



THE GliOVnSG'BXrS'E-JjEG {Eriocnemis v(Stilits). The 

 names of Puff-leg and Eriocnemis have been given 

 to a genus of Humming-birds in whicli the legs are sur- 

 rounded by a tuft of delicate small plumes, which are 

 usually of a white colour. Of the present species Mr. 

 Gould says, " It is unquestionably one of the finest 

 species of its genus, and one of the most resplendent 

 of the Trochilida;." It is a native of Columbia, where 

 it is fomid abundantly in the vicinity of Bogota. The 

 general colour of the plumage in the male is bronzed 

 green, varying in tint on difl'erent parts of the body ; 

 the lower part of the back, and the upper taiL-coverts. 

 which are largely developed, are of the most hrilliant 



