FIRE-BACKED SUNBIRD. 
131 
gative characters of this sort, particularly in such a 
genus as this, are very often better than others of a 
positive nature. The whole of the head, the neck, 
and the breast, is of a dark glossy copper-red colour, 
with a slight gloss of lilac-purple on the throat and 
breast: this copper-red extends down the upper 
part of the neck on to the interscapulars, where it 
gradually becomes more lilac, or, in other words, 
the coppery gloss diminishes and the lilac increases, 
and so continues down the whole back, and is ter- 
minated only by the upper tail-covers, which are 
tinged with an amythistine purple : the lesser wing- 
covers are like the rump, but the colour terminates 
in a more purplish tinge than is seen in any other 
part of the bird : the whole of the remainder plum- 
age, from the breast to the vent, including also 
the tail and wings, is of the deepest black : bill and 
feet the same. 
Total length, 4f inches ; bill, from the gape, T s 0 ; 
wings, ; tail beyond, 1 j’g ; ditto, from the 
base, 2 ; tarsus, 
