178 THE BAR-TAILED HUMMING-BIRD. 



the lower end of the back. The female is quite an ordinary little bird, without crest, neck- 

 plumes, or long hair-feathers, and is generally of a dull bronze-green color, and grayish-white 

 below, sprinkled with green. 



There are many species of Violet-eared Humming-birds, all of which are easily recog- 

 nized by means of the patch of violet feathers which is placed on each side of the face. 



The Bolivia Violet-ear inhabits the country from which it derives its popular title, and 

 is one of the migratory birds, passing over a considerable tract of territory in the course of 

 its travels. The localities which it most prefers are the valleys and low grounds where maize 

 is cultivated, and in such situations it is very plentiful. The character of the species is emi- 

 nently pugnacious, and it will not permit any other bird to approach its dominions. It is a 

 very pretty bird : the general color of the upper parts of the body is golden-green, a tint which 

 extends to the two central feathers of the tail; the remainder of the tail is deep-blue green. 

 The throat and breast are shining green, and the chin, abdomen, and a patch above the eye, 

 are deep blue. The length of the bird is rather more than three inches. 



The lovely little Sparkling-tail is an inhabitant of Mexico, and is found very plenti- 

 fully in Guatemala, where it is remarkably familiar and visits the habitations of mankind 

 without any reluctance, haunting every garden wherein are blooming flowers, and altogether 

 displaying a wonderful amount of confidence. The nest of this species is very tiny, rounded 

 and beautifully woven from various delicate fibres, cottony down, and spiders' webs, and is 

 covered externally with lichens applied in a very artistic manner. In this nest are laid two 

 eggs, hardly bigger than peas, of a delicate semi-transparent pearly white, and reminding the 

 observer of the eggs of the common snail. The nest is always stuck upon a leaf or some slight 

 twig by means of spiders' webs, so that instead of the great spider catching and eating the 

 Humming-bird, as Madame Merian supposed, the Humming-bird is the real depredator, and 

 robs the spider. 



In coloring and form the two sexes are quite dissimilar. 



The male is bronze-green above, with the exception of the bold crescent-shaped white 

 feathers on the lower part of the back. The throat is rich metallic-blue, becoming velvety- 

 black in certain lights, because each feather is black at the base and blue at the tip. The 

 wings are of a rich dark purple-brown. Round the neck runs a broad snowy-white crescentic 

 band, and the whole under surface is bronze-green, except the under tail-coverts, across which 

 runs a band of white. The tail is very curious, exhibiting very many tints, and not very easy 

 to describe. The two central feathers are rich shining green ; the next green marked with 

 bronze ; the next dark brown, with two triangular white spots on the inner web, one near the 

 middle and the other at the tip ; the two central feathers are dark brown for the first half of 

 their length, then comes a broad band of deep rusty-red, then a broad white band, then a 

 brown band, and the tip is white. The whole length is about four inches. 



The female is of a rich bronze-green on the upper surface of the body, and the two cres- 

 centic marks on the lower part of the back are buff instead of white, as in her mate. Her tail 

 is short, and of a purple-black bronzed at the base; all the feathers except the two central 

 ones are tipped with white and ringed with buff. The under surface is rusty-red, becoming 

 darker on the under tail-coverts. The length is not quite three inches. 



We now come to one of the most imposing of all the Humming-birds, namely the Sappho 

 Comet, or the Bar-tailed Httmming-bird, as it is often called. It is a native of Bolivia, and 

 is a migratory species, generally going to Eastern Peru in the winter. It is a remarkably 

 familiar bird, haunting the gardens and orchards while the trees are blossoming, especially 

 while the apple-trees are in flower. The males are extremely fierce and pugnacious, chasing 

 each other through the air with surprising perseverance and acrimony. Of these Birds 

 Mr. Bonelli gives a very spirited description :— 



" It arrives in the environs of ( Ihuquesaqua in the months of September and October, and 

 takes up its residence in the shrubberies of the city and the gardens of the Indian cottages; 



