47 



KACKET-TAILED. 



PLATE VI.— FIG. 2. 



TtqcHIms platurus. "Whenever you see a word with the 

 prefix plat, you may be sure it has reference to something 

 broad, or spreading in the form or nature of it. This little 

 bird has a tail which spreads out very much, the feathers 

 being pointed, and gradually lengthening from the centre to 

 the two outer ones, Avhich are much longer than the rest; 

 and after projecting a considerable distance, bare of web, they 

 finish off in oval tips, in shape like racket-boards, hence the 

 common name of the species. 



A dull green, with purple shades and reflections, is the 

 uniform colour of this bird; there is a little white about the 

 base of the tail and under parts of the body; the scaly feathers 

 of the breast are of a bright emerald green. A very pretty 

 and interesting species this, but not much known. Guiana 

 is the only country from whence it has been sent to Europe. 



There is a species still more rare, which has this peculiar 

 form of tail, namely, the Bough-legged Eacket-tailed Humming 

 Bird, in Latin Trochilus Undenvoodii ; its discoverer was pro- 

 bably a Mr. Underwood. It is remarkable for having the thighs 

 and tarsi, that is, the lower joints of the legs, thickly covered 

 with narrow horny plumes; it has, in fact, feathered legs, like 

 some kinds of poultry and other birds have; but these leg- 

 coverings are very different from the little downy balls, like 

 minute powder-puffs, which some Humming J3irds carry about 

 under their bodies. 



To the Eacket-tailed group of Humming Birds the generic 

 term Spathura has been applied; this term, like platurus, has 

 reference to the flattened or spreading terminal feathers of the 

 tail, which, during the flight of the bird, are in a constant state 

 of vibration. There are three species of this genus described by 

 Mr. Gould, the first of the above-named, which he calls the 

 Peruvian; the second, the White-booted; and a third, the Eed- 

 booted Eacket-tail: they all appear to be peculiar to the Cor- 

 dilleras; the females are without the long tail appendages. 



