282 
THE LIVING WORLD, 
each year, but in this respect I do not think the genera differs from other 
birds, as all depends upon the length of the season. 
Flag-tailed Sylph (.Steganurus underwoodii ) is a species whose special 
habitat is near the equator, but its range is as far north as Jamaica, consider¬ 
able numbers being 
found about a district 
on that island known 
as Bluefield Ridge, 
where every tree is cov¬ 
ered with creeping flow¬ 
ers, thus providing a 
great attraction for 
these dainty creatures. 
The name flag-tail has 
been given to this spe¬ 
cies because of two very 
long feathers that form 
the tail, which, how¬ 
ever, are not so hand¬ 
somely colored as the 
plumage on its body. 
The back of this bird 
is of an emerald sheen, 
the wings a dark pur¬ 
ple, and the throat and 
breast a brilliant green. 
Its length is some ten 
inches, of which the 
tail comprises at least 
seven inches. 
The Sword Bill 
(Dochnastes ensifer ) is 
found principally at ex¬ 
treme elevations along 
the equator, the region 
about Quito being its 
favorite haunt. It is 
provided with a bill 
of extraordinary length, 
in which we again ob¬ 
serve a wonderful de¬ 
sign and adaptation, as 
the bird draws its sus¬ 
tenance almost entirely 
from the corollas of the 
brugmansiae and other 
species of the trumpet flower. A bill of extreme length is therefore abso¬ 
lutely essential, since by no other means could it reach the nectar which lies 
at the bottom of the deep cups. The sword bill is very handsomely clothed in 
emerald humming-bird (Chlorostilbon prasinus). 
