The COQUETTES (Lophornis) are remarkable for the magnificent collar that adorns their neck, formed of long, narrow, and most delicately-marked feathers; this collar can be raised or laid back at pleasure. The head is usually embellished by a crest; the awl-shaped beak equals the head in length; the wings are small and slender; the tail is composed of broad, long feathers.
THE SPLENDID COQUETTE.
The SPLENDID COQUETTE (Lophornis ornata), a very richly-tinted species, inhabiting Guiana, is of a bronze-green on the rump; the crest is brownish red, and a white line passes over the lower part of the back; the region of the face is green, with a most brilliant lustre; the graduated feathers that form the collar are light reddish brown, spotted with glowing green; the quills are deep purplish brown, and the beak flesh-pink, tipped with brown. The female is much paler, and entirely without the crest, collar, and green about the beak—features that so materially enhance the beauty of the male.
"This glorious little bird," says Gould, "which is strictly an inhabitant of the lowland districts of tropical America, enjoys a somewhat extensive range over the eastern part of that continent, being found from the Caraccas on the north to Brazil on the south, and is particularly numerous in all the intermediate countries of Demerara, Surinam, and Cayenne; it is also equally abundant in the island of Trinidad. Prince Max of Wied states that in Brazil he found it on dry and arid plains, clothed with a scanty and bushy vegetation; and such would seem to be the habit of the bird in Trinidad, since it there flies around the low, flowering shrubs of the open part of the country, rather than in the more wooded or forest districts. The nest is a cup-shaped structure, composed of some cottony material, bound together with cobwebs, and decorated externally with small pieces of lichen and mosses."
THE SPLENDID COQUETTE (Lephornis ornata).
Mr. Tucker states that "this species frequents the pastures and open places, and visits the flowers of all the small shrubs, but is particularly fond of those of the ipecacuanha plant; and that it is very pugnacious, erecting its crest, throwing out its whiskers, and attacking every Humming Bird that passes within the range of its vision."
The AMAZONS (Bellatrix) have a smaller collar and larger crest than the above group.