12 CHILI. 



and feed by itself. During this time life is sustained by, the 

 introduction of food into the throat by means of the parents' 

 bill. It is incredible how much food they require during their 

 growth, especially the first few days after birth. The parents 

 are constantly seen bringing food to their young. Their 

 digestion is very active, as can be seen by the numerous ex- 

 crements accumulated outside their nests. 



m 



These charming creatures, although allied in some res- 

 pects to the Picarian birds, are quite distinct from all, and 

 in 1876, I proposed for them the name of a new Order, 

 (Ttochili.) At first, I met with a certain opposition, but I 

 am happy to say that it is now accepted by many ornitho- 

 logists, and last year, Mr. Osbert Salvin, the eminent 

 English ornithologist, in the Catalogue of Birds in the British 

 Museum, vol. xvi., 1892, page 27, has made use of that name, 

 TroCHILI, as a Suborder for them. The principal charac- 

 teristics of these birds are : — The second, third, and fourth 

 toes directed forwards, the hallux backwards, the body very 

 small, the bill very slender, the nostrils basal, linear, covered 

 by an operculum, sometimes hidden in frontal feathers, the 

 tongue slender, filiform capable of great extension, the wings 

 narrow and pointed, the primaries, ten in number, stiff and long, 

 the secondaries very short, the sternum large, the tail, composed 

 of ten feathers, varying greatly in shape and size. Their 

 plumage is of the most brilliant metallic hues in the males, 

 although in several species they are sombre, and in some few 

 the plumage of the females, usually tern, is as beautiful as 

 that of the males. They surpass in brilliancy, and in variety 

 of colours, that of the most precious stones, such as rubies, 

 emeralds, topazes, amethysts, turquoises, sapphires, garnets^ 

 etc. They are the unequalled gems of Nature. Only in 

 America and its adjacent islands, they are to be met with. 

 Actually, we know over Jive hundred distinct species, and 

 many more remain to be discovered. From immemorial 

 times they have been admired, and their splendid feathers 

 made use of for adorning the mantles of the Mexican and 

 Peruvian Emperors, as also for the manufacture of superb 

 mosaics, representing scenes of Indian life, portraits, and the 

 like, and lastly, for millinery and jewelry purposes, such 

 as mantles, soirées dresses, head gears, hat ornaments, ear- 

 rings, brooches, etc. They are also used in the prepara- 

 tion of groups for the adornment of drawing-rooms ; but, I am 

 sorry to say, that a great destruction of these beautiful birds 

 have been made of late for all these purposes, and I hope 



