THE SEARCHERS. 55 



I have never known -one of these battles last longer than about ten seconds, and in the specimens 

 I have under my notice in cages, their fighting has mostly ended in the splitting of the tongue of one 

 of the two, which then surely dies, from being unable to feed." 



The TRUE SABRE-WINGS {Platystyloj>ierus) are recognisable by their comparatively great 

 size and strength, and the unusual development of the shafts of the exterior quills ; the tail is straight 

 at its extremity ; the beak short and powerful, and almost straight. 



THE FAWN-COLOURED SABRE-WING. 

 The Fawn-coloured Sabre-wing {Platystylopterus rufus) is about five inches and a half long, 

 and seven broad. In this species the mande and central tail-feathers are of a bronze-like green, the 

 under side brownish yellow, and the exterior tail-feathers brownish yellow with a black spot near the 

 tip. This bird is an inhabitant of Guatemala. We are entirely without particulars as to its life 

 and habits. 



The JEWEL HUMMING BIRDS {Hypophaiiia) have a powerful and slighdy-curved beak 

 and small foot, in some instances covered with down ; the wing, which somewhat resembles that of 

 the Oreotrochilus, is sometimes short, sometimes long ; in the otherwise short tail two of the feathers 

 are generally much prolonged. 



THE CRIMSON TOPAZ HUMMING BIRD. 



The Crimson Topaz Humming Bird (Topaza pelld), one of the most splendid species of this 

 highly bedizened group, has the crown of the head and a line about the throat of velvety blackness ; 

 the rump is copper-colour, shading into rich deep red, and glistening with a golden light ; the wing- 

 covers are green ; the throat is golden in some lights, emerald-green in others, glancing with the 

 yellow radiance of the topaz ; the quills are reddish brown ; the centre tail-feathers, which project 

 three inches beyond the rest, are chestnut-brown, and those at the e.xterior reddish brown. The 

 female is principally of a greenish hue, with a red throat, and is far less resplendent than her mate. 

 The length of this bird, including the long tail-feathers, exceeds eight inches. 



We learn from Gould that Cayenne, Trinidad, Surinam, and the fluviatile regions of the Lower 

 Amazon are the native habitat of this gorgeous species, which may be regarded, not only as one of 

 the gems of ornithology, but as one of the most beautifully-adorned species of the Trochilida. 



Mr. Waterton thus describes the Crimson Topaz in his " Wanderings : " — " One species alone 

 never shows his beauty to the sun ; and were it not for his lovely shining colours you might almost 

 be tempted to class him with the Goatsuckers, on account of his habits. He is the largest of all the 

 Humming Birds, and is all red and changing gold-green, except the head, which is black. He has 

 two long feathers in the tail, which cross each other, and these have gained him from the Indians 

 the name ' Karabinite,' or ' Ara Humming Bird.' You never find him on the coast, or where the 

 river is salt, or in the heart of the forest, unless fresh water be there. He keeps close by the side 

 of woody fresh water rivers and dark lonely creeks ; he leaves his retreat before sunrise to feed 

 on the insects near the water ; he returns to it as soon as the sun's rays cause a glare of light ; he is 

 sedentary all day long, but comes out again for a short time after sunset." The nest, represented in 

 our woodcut, is deeply cup-shaped, the walls exceedingly thin, and the whole structure composed 

 apparently of fragments of a species of fungus, very much resembling German tinder, bound together 

 by cobwebs or some similar material. The two white eggs are about fi%'e-eighths of an inch in 

 length. 



