56 



CASSELLS BOOK OF lilRDS. 



THE BLACK-CAPPED liUMMING BIRD. 

 The Black-capped Humming Bird {Ait/iunis polytvius) has a short, shghtly-forked tail, the two 

 outer feathers of which are prolonged six inches beyond the rest. The male has a long tuft over 

 each ear, and is velvety black on the crown of the head ; the mantle is green ; the under side glossy 

 emerald-green, shading into blueish black on the belly and tail-covers ; the quills are purplish black ; 

 the tail-feathers deep black, with a greenish shade towards the roots ; the eye is deep brown, the Leak 

 bright red, tipped with black, and the foot brown ; the male is ten inches long, and si.x broad ; his 



THE CRIMSON TOPAZ HUMMING BIRD {Topaza pel'a). 



wing measures two inches and three-quarters, and his tail seven inches and a quarter. The female, 

 whose length does not exceed four inches and a half, with wngs two inches and a quarter, and the tail 

 one inch and seven-eighths long, is of a copper-green on the mantle, and white beneath ; her sides 

 are spotted with green. 



" This Humming Bird," says Mr. Gosse, " is the gem of Jamaican ornithology. Its slender 

 form, velvet crest, emerald bosom, and lengthened tail-plumes render it one of the most elegant 

 members of its truly brilliant family. It is a permanent resident in Jamaica, and is not uncommonly 

 seen at all seasons and in all situations. It loves to frequent the margins of roadsides, where it sucks 

 the blossoms of the trees, occasionally descending, however, to the lower shrubs : and is abundant on 

 the summits of the range of mountains known as the Bluefield Ridge. Behind these peaks, which 



