THE LIVING WORLD. 
283 
plumage extremely iridescent with emerald, purple and bronze that change in 
hues with every movement of the bird. 
Crimson Topaz ( Topaza pyra ) is confined to the extreme north of South 
America, and is a very beautiful creature, as the name implies. The body is 
of a deep crimson, the main tail feathers bronze, from which issue two very 
long feathers of a purplish green. 
It is semi-nocturnal, and being also 
extremely shy, is not often met 
with. 
The Topaz ( Topaza pella ) is 
perhaps the most gorgeously beau¬ 
tiful of all the genera, probably 
exceeding in this respect the spe¬ 
cies just described. It, too, is a 
habitant of northern South Amer¬ 
ica, but ranges somewhat nearer 
thi equator than the topaza pyra . 
The color is a flaming scarlet on 
the back, while the head and neck 
feathers are of a deep velvet black, 
presenting a most charming con¬ 
trast. The throat is an emerald 
green, which fades to a light opal¬ 
ine hue towards the tail coverts, 
reappearing again in a bright green 
with an orange gloss, while two 
long tail feathers of a greenish- 
purple complete the royal wardrobe 
of this fairy among the flowers. 
Its size, being about eight inches 
in length, entitles it to rank among 
birds belonging to larger classes, 
except for the characteristics which 
bind it to the trochilus species. 
The Trailing Sylph (Spar- 
ganurci) is sometimes called the 
Comet of Sappho , and also bar¬ 
tailed. Its home is Bolivia, where 
it haunts the gardens and orchards 
through the summer, and retires 
to eastern Peru when the winter GROUP OF HU m M ing-birds flag tailed sylph, topaz hum- 
season appears. It is specially dis- ming-bird, trailing sylph, sword beak, brilliant elf. 
tinguished for the prolongation of 
its tail feathers, which are of a fiery red tipped with a velvet black band. The 
general color of the body feathers is a sheeny green, with bronze hues on the 
neck, and a crimson red on the lower back. The term comet has been applied 
to it on account of the extraordinary velocity of its flight and the darting, 
eccentric motions it frequently indulges in. 
Brilliant Elf (Lophornis ornatus ), or tufted coquette , is a rather rare species 
