THE HAUNTS OF THE PARROT. 127 
to reward me, and during my stay those humming- 
birds watched with me, the male darting off upon 
frequent forays for insects and honey, the female 
snuggled cosily in her dainty nest. The little hus- 
band now looked upon me as an intruder, to be tol- 
erated only upon sufferance, and at my slightest 
motion he would dive at my face; at which exhibi- 
tion of bravery the little wife would twitter with de- 
light and swell with pride. 
Finally I retraced my steps, as it was near noon. 
I had nearly reached camp when I saw a puff of 
smoke and heard a loud report, and directly Coryet, 
who had espied me, ran forward with animated ges- 
tures. Interpreting their meaning, and obeying his 
directions, which he jabbered in broken French, I 
directed my attention to an immense gommier tree a 
few hundred feet away. At first I saw nothing, but 
approaching I gradually resolved the mass of foliage 
into its component leaves and twigs, vines and air 
plants, and caught sight of a glowing body clothed in 
purple and golden-green. : 
In the cloud of smoke from my gun it disappeared, 
but only to gleam again athwart the leafy space ere 
it fell with heavy thud to the ground. To recover it 
was the work of an instant with the excited Indian, 
whose enthusiasm almost equalled mine as he placed 
in my hands this largest of all the parrots of the 
Indies. Their first shot in the morning had been in- 
effectual, but the second had wounded the mate to 
this; and it was its loud cries that caused my bird to 
remain so long in a place fraught with so much 
danger. 
At last I had secured this valuable bird! And I 
