The SUN BIRDS (Phaëtornis) have a large, long head and slightly-curved beak. Their foot is small and delicate, with partially feathered tarsus and formidable claws; the tail, in which the centre feathers far exceed the rest in length, is long and conical. The plumage is dull, and the sexes alike in colour, the only difference observable being the formation of the tail.
THE CAYENNE HERMIT.
The CAYENNE HERMIT (Phaëtornis superciliosus) is about seven inches long; the wing measures two inches and one-third, and the tail two inches and two thirds. In this species the mantle is of a pure metallic green, and the under side reddish grey; the feathers on the back have reddish yellow borders; a pale reddish yellow line passes above and below the eye; the quills are brown, shaded with violet; the centre tail-feathers, which are twice the length of those at the sides, are of a dull metallic green, shading into black towards the white tip, and edged with reddish yellow; the upper mandible is black, and the lower half of the under one pale yellow; the feet are flesh-pink. The female has quieter plumage and a shorter tail; the latter is but slightly wedge-shaped, and fully two inches less than that of her mate.
"The Phaëtornis superciliosus," says Gould, "is one of the commonest species of the genus, examples having been sent to Europe for at least the last hundred years. Its native countries are Guiana, Cayenne, and Surinam; its range is known to extend towards Brazil, as far as the confluence of the Amazon, but, as I believe, does not advance farther south than Bahia. Open trails covered with shrub or brushwood are the localities it most frequents."
Wallace gives the following graphic description of the movements of the Phaëtornis and some nearly-allied species:—"I have distinctly observed them visit in rapid succession every leaf and flower on a branch, balancing themselves vertically in the air, passing their beak closely over the under surface of each leaf, and thus capturing any small insect that might be upon them. While doing this the two long feathers of their tail have a vibratory motion, serving apparently as a rudder to assist them in performing the delicate operation. I have seen others searching up and down stems and dead sticks in the same manner, every now and then picking off an insect, exactly as a Bush Shrike or Tree Creeper does"—with this exception, that the Humming Bird is constantly on the wing. They also capture insects in the true Fissirostral manner, and may often be seen perched on the dead twig of a lofty tree, the same station that is chosen by the Tyrant Flycatchers and Jacamars, and from which, like those birds, they dart off a short distance, and, after a few whirls and balancings, return to the identical twig they had left. In the evening, after sunset, when the Goatsuckers are beginning their search over the rivers, I have seen Humming Birds come out of the forest and remain a long time on the wing, now stationary, now darting about with the greatest rapidity, imitating in a limited space the varied evolutions of the Goatsuckers, and evidently for the same end and purpose.
THE SICKLE-BILLED HUMMING BIRD (Eutoxeres aquila).
The MOUNTAIN NYMPHS (Oreotrochilus) are at once recognisable by the very peculiar formation of the wings, in which the shafts of the exterior quills are remarkably broad. The strong, high beak is of medium size, and the short tail almost straight at its extremity, only the outer feathers being slightly rounded. The magnificently-coloured and glossy plumage is blue or green upon the mantle, and of a lighter shade on the under side; the region of the throat is usually edged with the most glowing tints, and the exterior tail-feathers are often white. The sexes vary considerably in their coloration.