THE CHIMBORAZIAN HILL-STAR. 



183 



and that, in all probability, it subserves some very important purpose. Some persons have 

 suggested, with some show of reason, that the beak is recurved in older to enable the bird to 

 feed upon the nectar and insects which reside in the deepest recesses of certain tubular 

 flowers. 



It is a pretty bird, but is not gifted with the gorgeous and dazzling hues which are so 

 lavishly shed upon the plumage of many Humming-birds. The head and the whole of the 

 upper parts of the body are shining golden-green, and the throat is bright emerald. The 

 under parts are also golden-green, with the exception of a black streak that runs from the 



SUN-GEM.— Iltli tctinus contains. 



breast through the centre of the abdomen. The wings are purple-brown, and the lateral 

 feathers of the tail are topaz. 



Our ideas of Humming-birds are naturally associated with the tropical climate and burn- 

 ing sun of the regions which they inhabit, and few persons would think of looking for any 

 species of Humming-bird in a locality where the temperature seldom rises above that of an 

 ordinary winter in York State. Yet the Chimboeazian Hill-star is never found except 

 upon the elevated portions of the lofty mountains from which it derives its name, and inhabits 

 exclusively the very edges of the line of perpetual snow. 



This bird is never seen on any spot that is less than twelve thousand feet above the level 

 of the sea, and is most commonly seen at a much greater elevation, specimens having been 

 obtained on spots that are at least sixteen thousand feet above the ocean. Beyond this 

 height the creature cannot live, as the line of perpetual snow commences at that point, and 

 places an effectual barrier against the growth of the plants on which the bird finds its sub- 

 sistence. The two sexes are seldom seen near each other, the males preferring to haunt the 



