554 HOMES WITHOUT H,VNDS. 



One of the most remarkable points of this singularly beauti- 

 ful nest is the firm texture of the walls. Externally, the nest 

 looks as if it were a mere large hollow bunch of cotton-wool 

 with a hole near the top, and seems to be so fragile that the eggs 

 would fall through the fabric. But when the inside of the 

 nest is viewed, it is seen to be composed of a kind of felt, as 

 firm and close as if it had been formed by human art, so that 

 neither wind nor wet can penetrate ; and it is capable of up- 

 holding a much greater weight than would be introduced into it. 

 To pull out a tuft of the cotton-wool is impossible without 

 teariug a hole in the fabric, so closely are the delicate fibres 

 interwoven with each other. 



In the accompanying illustration are shown the nests of two 

 species of Humming Bird. 



The oddly-shaped nest which occupies the upper part of the 

 drawing is made by the Fiery Topaz {Tvpaza pyra), one of the 

 most magnificent of these lovely birds. Indeed, Prince Lucieu 

 Buonaparte calls it the most beautiful of the Trochilidse, and it 

 is hardly possible to imagine a bird that can surpass it in bril- 

 liancy. The body is fiery scarlet, the head velvet-black, the 

 throat glittering emerald, with a patch of crimson in the centre ; 

 the lower part of the back is also green, and the long, slender, 

 crossed feathers of the tail are purple with a green gloss. So 

 magnificent a biTd can have but few rivals, and there is only 

 one species which even approaches it in beauty. This is the 

 Crimson Topaz {Topazapella), a bird wliich is nearly allied to it, 

 and which much resembles it in general colouring. It may, how- 

 ever, be distinguished by the colour of the body, which is crimson 

 instead of scarlet. 



Curiously enough, although it is bedecked Vi^ith resplendent 

 hues, which seem to need the presence of daylight, and to be 

 made expressly for the purpose of reflecting the brightest beams 

 of the sun, yet the lovely bird is one of the night wanderers, 

 being seldom seen as long as the sun is above the horizon, and 

 preferring to seek its food while the world is shrouded in dark- 

 ness. Perhaps the reader may remember that the sea-mouse, 

 whose iridescent garment possesses all the tints of the rainbow, 

 is also a darkness lover, and passes its life sunk in the black 

 mud of the sea-shore. 



