CHAPTER IV 



DECORATION IN BIRDS {continued) 



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The Poise of a Humming-bird (after Ridgway)- 



Humming-birds — Difference in plumage between male and female — 

 The Racket-tailed Humming-bird — Bell-bird — Umbrella-bird — 

 Great Crested Grebe — Standard-winged Nightjar — Huia. 



Among the highly coloured birds of the world the 

 Hummers take a foremost place, for the majority of the 

 species are bedecked with metallic plumes of brilliant tint, 

 while the variety in form and adornment is equalled in no 

 other Order or Family of Birds. The Humming-birds, in 

 fact, stand alone in the class Aves, and have no very close 

 allies. Their flight is of extraordinary rapidity and their 

 power of hovering more than wonderful, so that in many 

 of their actions they resemble the Hawk-moths or Spliynges, 



90 



