What heavenly tints in mingling radiance fly!
Each rapid movement gives a different dye—
Like scales of burnished gold, they dazzling show;
Now sink to shade, now like a furnace glow."
The following very interesting account of the demeanour of this delicate and interesting bird in captivity is given by Gould:—"A Trochilus colubris captured for me by some friends pumped the fluid from a little bottle whenever offered it, and in this manner it lived with me a constant companion for several days, travelling in a little, thin gauze bag, distended with whalebone, and suspended to a button of my coat. It was only necessary for me to take the bottle in my hand to induce it to thrust its spiny bill through the gauze, protrude its lengthened tongue down the neck of the bottle, and pump up the fluid till it was satiated; it would then fly to the bottom of its little home, preen its tail and wing feathers, and seem quite content.
"The specimens I brought alive to this country were as docile and fearless as a great moth under similar treatment. The little cage in which they lived was twelve inches long, seven wide, and eight high. In this was placed a diminutive twig, and suspended to the side a glass phial, which I daily supplied with saccharine matter, in the form of sugar or honey and water, with the addition of the yolk of an unboiled egg. Upon this food they appeared to thrive and be happy during the voyage along the seaboard of America and across the Atlantic, until they arrived within the influence of the climate of Europe. The vessel in which I made the passage took a northern course, which carried us over the banks of Newfoundland, and although the cold was rather severe during part of the time, the only effect it appeared to have upon my little pets was to induce a kind of torpidity, from which they were rapidly aroused by placing them in the sunshine, in the bosom, or near a fire. I do assure my readers that I have seen these little creatures cold, stiff, and to all appearance dead, and that from this state they were readily restored by a little attention and removal into light and heat, when they would 'peck up,' flutter their tiny wings, and feast away as if in the best state of health."
The AMETHYST HUMMING BIRDS (Calliphlox) have a delicate, pointed beak, exceeding the head in length; the legs are slender and the toes and claws short, the latter much hooked and sharply pointed. The wings are short; the tail of the male, composed of narrow feathers, is forked at its extremity, whilst that of the female is quite straight.
THE AMETHYST HUMMING BIRD.
The AMETHYST HUMMING BIRD (Calliphlox amethystina) is numerously met with in the interior of Brazil. This resplendent little bird is of a dark metallic green, shaded with pale gold on the back; the neck, cheeks, and throat glow with the brilliant hue of the amethyst, and are divided from the under side by a line of pure white; the breast and belly are blackish grey, shaded with copper-red, the lower tail-covers are light grey, bordered with white, and the quills greyish brown, tinted with violet. The centre tail-feathers are of a metallic green, and those at the exterior greyish brown. The female has a white throat, and her tail edged with reddish yellow; the young resemble their mother. This species is three inches and one-third long and about the same in breadth; the wing measures one inch and a half, the tail of the male one inch and a quarter, while that of the female does not exceed two-thirds of an inch.