TOPAZ HUMMING-BIRD. 



471 



expanded, looks very much like a bird's tail ; but, of course, 

 all these points of resemblance are merely superficial. 



He one day saw a little pigmy, belonging to the genus 

 Phicthornis, in the act of washing itself in a brook. It was 

 perched on a thin branch, whoso end was under water. It 

 dipped itself, then fluttered its wings, and plumed its feathers, 

 and seemed thoroughly to enjoy itself alone in the shady nook 

 which it had chosen. " There is no need for poets to invent," 



FIF.RY TOPAZ AND NEST. 



he adds, " while nature furnishes us with such marvellous 

 little sprites ready to hand." 



But these beautiful little creatures require a separate de- 

 scription. 



TOPAZ HUMMING-BIRD. 



The topaz humming-bird is perhaps the most resplendent 

 and beautiful of its tribe. The fiery topaz (Topaza pyra) is 

 found on the shores of the Rio Negro. The larger part of its 



