176 
THE SPANGLED COQUETTE. 
brown. The female has no red upon the throat or forehead. There are several species 
of Sun-angel, among which may be mentioned Claeissa’s Sun-angel (. Heliangelus clarissce), 
a bird which is remarkable for the deep ruby-crimson with which its gorget is dyed. 
Thousands of these birds are killed annually by means of the deadly blowpipe, and their 
skins forwarded to Europe, where they are largely employed for various decorative pur- 
poses, such as being mounted in ornamental cases of stuffed birds for drawing-rooms, 
feather fans and fire-screens, or for head-dresses of more than ordinary brilliancy. Two 
thousand of these birds have been sold at Paris at a single time, merely for the manufacture 
of head-dresses. 
The two little birds which we now describe are remarkable for the manner in which their 
heads are decorated. One of them is seen to be a dark little creature, with the exception of a 
snowy white crown to its head, and a bold streak of white upon its tail. This is the Snow- 
cap Humming-bied, one of the most curious and the most rare of all the Trochilidse. Its 
habits and the localities in which it lives are well described in the words of its discoverer, as 
quoted by Gould : — 
“It was in the autumn of 1852, while stationed in the district of Belen, Yeraquas, New 
Grenada, that I obtained several specimens of this diminutive variety of the Humming-bird 
family. 
“ The first one I saw was perched on a twig, pluming its feathers. I was doubtful for a 
few moments whether so small an object could be a bird, but on close examination I convinced 
myself of the fact and secured it. Another I encountered while bathing, and for a time I 
watched its movements before shooting it. The little creature would poise itself about three 
feet or so above the surface of the water, and then as quick as thought dart downwards, so as 
to dip its miniature head in the placid pool ; then up again to its original position, quite as 
quickly as it had descended. These movements of darting up and down it would repeat in 
rapid succession, which produced not a moderate disturbance of the surface of the water for 
such a diminutive creature. After a considerable number of dippings, it alighted on a twig 
near at hand, and commenced pluming its feathers.” 
The colors of this little bird are so dark, that it appears to be uniformly brown, until it is 
examined more closely, when it is seen to be of a coppery hue, on which a purple reflection 
is visible in extreme lights, the copper hue taking a warmer tint towards the tail. The crown 
of the head is dazzlingly white, and the tips of all the tail-feathers, and the bases of all except 
the two central, are also white. 
On the same drawing may be seen another remarkable little bird, possessed of a most 
beautiful and graceful crest. This is the Spangled Coquette, an excellent example of the 
very remarkable genus to which it belongs. All the Coquettes possess a well-defined crest 
upon the head, and a series of projecting feathers from the neck, some being especially notable 
for the one ornament, and others for the other. 
The Spangled Coquette is a native of several parts of Columbia. The singular crest is 
capable of being raised or depressed at the will of the bird, and produces a great effect in 
changing the whole expression of the creature. When raised to its fullest extent it spreads 
itself like the tail of the peacock, and much resembles the crest of the king tody, a bird which 
will be described in a future page. When depressed, it lies flat upon the bird, and is so large 
that it projects on either side, barely allowing the little black eyes to gleam from under its 
shade. 
The crown of the head and the crest are light ruddy chestnut, each feather having a ball- 
like spot of dark bronze-green at the tip. The throat and face are shining metallic green, below 
which is a small tuft of pointed white feathers that have a very curious effect as they protrude 
from beneath the gorget. The upper parts are bronze-green as far as the lower part of the 
back, where a band crosses from side to side, and the rest of the plumage is dark ruddy chest- 
nut as far as the tail. The tail is also chestnut-brown, with a slight wash of metallic green. 
The female has no crest nor green gorget. 
