THE HUMMING BIRDS. 305 



puff's are usually white, but sometimes brown, or more rarely black, 

 and are most conspicuously developed in the genera Panoplites, Erioc- 

 nemis, and Steganura. 



Fig. 30. — Leg-puffs of Panoplites Fig. 31. — Short tarsal feathers of Heliodoxa 



Jlavescens. jacula. 



COLORS OF THE PLUMAGE. 



When morning dawns, * * * * 



The flower-feel Humming Bird his round pursues ; 



Sips with inserted tube the honied blooms, 



And chirps his gratitude as round he roams ; 



While richest roses, though in crimson drest, 



Shrink from the splendor of his gorgeous breast. 



What heavenly tints in mingling radiance fly ! 



Each rapid movement gives a different dye ; 



Like scales of burnished gold they dazzling show — 



Now sink to shade, now like a furnace glow ! 



— ALEXANDER WILSON. 



While their diminutive size is one of the most striking peculiarities 

 of Humming Birds, their beautifully varied or resplendently metallic 

 plumage is, as a rule, not less so. 



Reference has been made on previous pages to the luminous gorget 

 of many species, and to the shining crests or beards of others ; but we 

 failed to mention that some kinds, instead of having luminous throats, 

 have the halo of radiance transferred to their crowns, as in species of 

 Uranomitra, in which the color is blue or violet, and Mistephamis, in 

 which it is brilliant red or green, according to the species. Frequently 

 there is a spot of the most brilliant emerald-green on the forehead, im- 

 mediately above the base of the bill, forming " a siar brighter than 

 Venus, the queen of planets" (Gould). It is worthy of remark that 

 this glittering gem-like spot has always a setting of the most intense 

 velvety black, to increase, by contrast, its brilliancy. Usually, but not 

 always, these same Humming Birds have a similar spot on the mid- 

 dle of the throat, its color, however, more often violet than green ; and 

 occasionally there are two brilliant spots on the throat, one below the 

 other, and of a different color, in which case it is interesting to observe, 

 that only one of them reflects its full brilliance at once, it being neces- 

 sary for the bird (or the person holding it, if a stuffed specimen), to 

 shift its position slightly to bring the other into full view — which, how- 

 ever, is done at the expense of the one previously seen. 



In some kinds the area of brilliant coloration lies upon some other 

 part of the bird than the head or throat. In some species of the genus 

 Eriocnemis, the amply developed upper tail-coverts are most glitter- 

 H. Mis. 129, pt. 2 20 



