SNOW-CAP HUMMING-BIED AND SPANGLED COQUETTE. 



245 



thousand feet ; tliey also met with it in the Paramos of Los Conejos at a similar elevation. 

 In those districts there doubtless exist other fine species at present unknown to us, for we 

 can scarcely imagine that these travellers procured examples of all the species of the 

 genera which dwell therein, and which we may reasonably expect to be as rich in the 

 feathered tribes as it is in another department of Nature's wonderful works, Botany." 



In the male bird there is a narrow mark upon the forehead of a deep fiery red, and the 

 crown of the head and the upper surface of the body are bronze-green. Behind each eye 

 there is a very small white spot, and a jetty black cross-streak is drawn from the angle of 

 the mouth towards the neck. The throat is decorated with a gorget of deep fiery red, 

 below which is a crescent-shaped band of whitish buff, and the abdomen is deeper bujff, 

 changing to green upon the flanks. The two central feathers of the tail are bronze-green, 

 and the remainder bronze-brown. The female has no red upon the throat or forehead. 

 There are several species of Sun-angel, among which may be mentioned Claeissa's Sun- 

 angel {Heliangelus Clarissce), a bird which is remarkable for the deep ruby-crimson with 

 which its gorget is dyed. Thousands of these birds are killed annually by means of the 

 deadly blowpipe, and their skins forwarded to Europe, where they are largely employed for 

 various decorative purposes, such as being mounted in ornamental cases of stuffed birds for 

 drawing-rooms, feather fans and fire-screens, or for head-dresses of more than ordinary 

 brilliancy. Two thousand of these birds have been sold at Paris at a single time, merely 

 for the manufacture of head-dresses. 



SNOW-CAP HUMMING-BIRD.— Microc/icBra albocorondta. 



SPANGLED COQUETTE.— Lop/iODiis Rcfjinm. 



The two little birds which are represented in the accompanying lUustration are 

 remarkable for the manner in which their heads are decorated. One of them is seen to be 

 a dark Httle creature, with the exception of a snowy white cro^\m to its head, and a bold 

 streak of white upon its tail. This is the Snow-cap Huiviming-bied, one of the most curious 

 and the most rare of all the Trochilidffi. Its habits and the localities m which it lives 

 are w^ell described in the words of its discoverer, as quoted by Gould : — 



"It was in the autumn of 1852, while stationed in the district of Belen, Veraquas, 

 New Granada, that I obtained several specimens of this diminutive variety ot the 



Humming-bird family. i i +f i f^^ ^ 



The first one I saw was perched on a twig, pluming its feathers. I was doubttiU tor a 

 few moments whether so small an object could be a bird, but on close examination i con- 

 vinced myself of the fact and secured it. Another I encountered while bathing, and tor a 



