SICKLE-BILL HUMMING BIRD —Eutoxeres A’ quit a. 
Several species are called Sickle-bills, on account of the peculiar form of 
their beaks, which are rather long, and sharply curved like a common sickle. 
This kind of beak is useful in order to suit the shape of the flowers on which 
the bird feeds. 
This Sickle-bill is a native of Veragua and Bogota, and is very rare even 
in the countries which it inhabits. 
The plumage is not very brilliant in its hues, but the various tints with which 
it is coloured are pleasing in their arrangement, and give to the bird a very 
pretty aspect. 
The crown of its head and the little crest are blackish brown, and each feather 
has one small spot of buff on its tip. The upper parts of the body are of a 
dark shining green, with a slight buffy wash, and on the tips of several of the 
secondaries there is a little white spot. The two central feathers of the tail are 
a dark glossy green with small white tips, and the others are of the same hue in 
their outer webs, greenish brown on the inner, and largely tipped with white. 
The under surface is brownish-black, diversified with some dark buff streaks upon 
the throat and breast, and with white streaks upon the abdomen and flanks ; 
the under tail-coverts are brown fringed with buff. The total length of the bird 
is about four and a half inches. 
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