1062 Marvels of the Untverse 
By permission of] [Sir H, H. Johnston, G.C.M.G. 
HUMMING-BIRDS. 
Humming-birds with long tails and gorgets, of the genus Sparganum. 
a dusky black. But in a large species of Pterophanes (which is remarkable for its musky scent and 
inhabits the Central Andes Mountains) the whole of the wing is a vivid blue, except for the tip, 
which is black, the rest of the body being dark green. The Rainbow Humming-bird has a golden- 
green forehead and orange-scarlet crown, with a violet-blue stripe in the centre, intensely black 
feathers in the nape of the neck, a vivid spot of lilac in the centre of the throat, and the rest of its 
plumage chestnut and green, with dusky-coloured wings. The Sappho Comet Humming-birds, 
ranging from Peru to Argentina, are bronzy-green, with crimson and fiery orange. Almost every 
tint of gems or of flowers is reproduced in Humming-birds, but this gorgeousness is almost invariably 
confined to the adult male, the females being often merely greenish-brown and white, with spotted 
or streaked under-parts, though sometimes they exhibit a duller copy of the incredibly gorgeous 
tints of the male, tints which are described under such terms as “‘ shining cobalt,”’ “ bright scarlet,”’ 
“vivid orange,’ “ deep beryl-green,” “ sapphire-blue,”’ “ amethyst,” ‘‘ deep 
purple,” “ topaz,” and so forth. 
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blazing emerald,” 
Yet this coloration is seldom due to actual pigment, but rather to the prismatic surfaces 
of the feathers, so that in some lights the gorgeousness is not visible at all, and the bird would 
seem to be black, grey, or greenish-brown. Perhaps, therefore, as regards actual effulgence of 
colour, Humming-birds must take a second place in comparison to the quite unrelated Sun- 
birds of the Old World, in whom many of the gorgeous tints are due to actually pigmented 
feathers. In fact, colour for colour, the Sun-birds are more gorgeous than the Humming-birds 
and than any other members of the avian class. But although they resemble Humming-birds 
in their long, curved beaks, they are more commonplace in outline and structure; for the Hum- 
ming-bird is not merely vivid in tint (putting aside the few examples of the family that are plain 
coloured), but develops other adornments or eccentricities of shape, which render him further 
remarkable to the observer. The wings run mainly to primary quills, and are long, narrow and 
