We learn from Gould that Cayenne, Trinidad, Surinam, and the fluviatile regions of the Lower Amazon are the native habitat of this gorgeous species, which may be regarded, not only as one of the gems of ornithology, but as one of the most beautifully-adorned species of the Trochilida.
Mr. Waterton thus describes the Crimson Topaz in his "Wanderings:" "One species alone never shows his beauty to the sun; and were it not for his lovely shining colours you might almost be tempted to class him with the Goatsuckers, on account of his habits. He is the largest of all the Humming Birds, and is all red and changing gold-green, except the head, which is black. He has two long feathers in the tail, which cross each other, and these have gained him from the Indians the name 'Karabinite,' or 'Ara Humming Bird.' You never find him on the coast, or where the river is salt, or in the heart of the forest, unless fresh water be there. He keeps close by the side of woody fresh water rivers and dark lonely creeks; he leaves his retreat before sunrise to feed on the insects near the water; he returns to it as soon as the sun's rays cause a glare of light; he is sedentary all day long, but comes out again for a short time after sunset." The nest, represented in our woodcut, is deeply cup-shaped, the walls exceedingly thin, and the whole structure composed apparently of fragments of a species of fungus, very much resembling German tinder, bound together by cobwebs or some similar material. The two white eggs are about five-eighths of an inch in length.
THE BLACK-CAPPED HUMMING BIRD.
The BLACK-CAPPED HUMMING BIRD (Aithurus polytmus) has a short, slightly-forked tail, the two outer feathers of which are prolonged six inches beyond the rest. The male has a long tuft over each ear, and is velvety black on the crown of the head; the mantle is green; the under side glossy emerald-green, shading into blueish black on the belly and tail-covers; the quills are purplish black; the tail-feathers deep black, with a greenish shade towards the roots; the eye is deep brown, the beak bright red, tipped with black, and the foot brown; the male is ten inches long, and six broad; his wing measures two inches and three-quarters, and his tail seven inches and a quarter. The female, whose length does not exceed four inches and a half, with wings two inches and a quarter, and the tail one inch and seven-eighths long, is of a copper-green on the mantle, and white beneath; her sides are spotted with green.
THE CRIMSON TOPAZ HUMMING BIRD (Topaza pella).
"This Humming Bird," says Mr. Gosse, "is the gem of Jamaican ornithology. Its slender form, velvet crest, emerald bosom, and lengthened tail-plumes render it one of the most elegant members of its truly brilliant family. It is a permanent resident in Jamaica, and is not uncommonly seen at all seasons and in all situations. It loves to frequent the margins of roadsides, where it sucks the blossoms of the trees, occasionally descending, however, to the lower shrubs; and is abundant on the summits of the range of mountains known as the Bluefield Ridge. Behind these peaks, which are visible from the sea, at an elevation of half a mile, there runs through the dense woods a narrow path, just passable for a horse, overrun with beautiful ferns of many graceful forms, and always damp and cool. No habitation occurs within several miles, and no cultivation, save the isolated provision grounds of the negroes, which teem with enormous arums, and are hidden from view in the thick woods. The refreshing coolness of the roads, the unbroken solitude, combined with the peculiarity and luxuriance of the vegetation, made it one of my favourite resorts. Not a tree, from the thickness of one's wrist to the gigantic magnitude of the hoary fig and cotton tree, but is clothed with gigantic parasites. Begonias with waxen leaves and ferns with hirsute stems climb up the trunks of enormous bromelias; various orchids, with matted roots and grotesque blossoms, spring from every bough; and long lianas, like the cordage of a ship, depend from the loftiest branches or stretch from tree to tree. Elegant tree-ferns and towering palms are numerous. Here and there the wild plantain waves its long flag-like leaves from amidst the humbler bushes; and in the most obscure corners, over some decaying log, nods the noble spike of a magnificent limed arum. Nothing is flaunting or showy; all is solemn and subdued, but all is exquisitely beautiful. The underwood consists largely of the plant called glass-eye berry, the blossoms of which, though presenting little beauty in form or hue, are eminently attractive to the Long-tailed Humming Bird. These bushes are at no part of the year out of blossom, their scarlet berries appearing at all seasons on the same stalk as the flowers; and here, at any time, one may with tolerable certainty calculate on finding these very lovely birds; but it is in March, April, and May that they abound. I suppose that I have sometimes seen not fewer than a hundred come successively to rifle the blossoms within the space of as many yards in one forenoon. They are, however, in no respects gregarious; though three or four may be seen at one moment hovering round the blossoms of the same shrub, there is no association—each is governed by its individual preference, and each attends to its own affairs. It is worthy of remark that males compose by far the greater portion of the individuals observed at this elevation, while very few females are seen there; whereas in the lowlands this sex outnumbers the other. In March a considerable number are seen to be clad in the livery of the adult male, but without the long tail-feathers, whilst others possess them in various stages of development. These are, I have no doubt, males of the preceding season. It is also common to find one of those lengthened feathers much shorter than the other; and in their aërial encounters with each other a tail-feather is sometimes displaced. The loud sound made by the strong vibration of the wings of the male is more shrill than that produced by those of the female, and indicates the proximity of the bird before the eye has detected it. The male utters an almost incessant chirp, both whilst resting on a twig or feeding from the flowers. They do not invariably probe the blossoms on the wing, but frequently when alighted and sitting with closed pinions; and they often partially sustain themselves whilst feeding by clinging with the feet to a leaf, with the wings expanded and vibrating. When perched, they usually sit in a nearly upright posture, with the head thrown backwards, the beak pointing at a small angle above the horizon, the feet almost hidden by the body being brought into contact with the perch, the tail thrust forward under the belly, and the long feathers crossing each other near their middle."
The nests, which are most numerous in June, are placed in a great variety of situations; that described by Mr. Gosse was "principally composed of silk-cotton, very closely pressed, mixed with the still more glossy cotton of an asclepias, particularly round the edge, the seeds remaining attached to some of the filaments. On the outside the whole structure is quite covered with spiders' webs, crossed and recrossed in every direction, and made to adhere by some viscous substance, evidently applied after the web was placed, probably saliva. Little bits of pale green lichen and fragments of thin laminated bark are stuck here and there on the outside, by means of the webs having been passed over them. The whole forms a very compact cup, one inch and three-quarters deep without, and one inch deep within, the sides about a quarter of an inch thick, the inner margin a little overarching, so as to narrow the opening; the total diameter at the top one inch and a half. The eggs are of a long oval form and pure white, save that when fresh the contents produce a reddish tinge, from the thinness of the shell. The above are the usual form, dimensions, and materials of the nest. Variations, however, often occur from local causes: thus, in one from a rocky situation only moss is used, and the base is prolonged to a point; one now before me is wholly composed of pure silk-cotton, bound profusely with the finest web, undistinguishable except on the closest examination, not a fragment of lichen mars the beautiful uniformity of its appearance; others are studded all over with lichens, and have a peculiar rustic prettiness. Insects constitute the principal food of this species, which obtains them from the flower-cups, and also catches them whilst on the wing."