In the gorgeous forest glooms of the mountainous parts of Jamaica, and especially in the sunny glades which here and there break their uniformity, where the ever-verdant foliage rises upon all sides of the open space like a wall, covered with the most elegant and fragrant flowers, I have been charmed by the familiar fearlessness and lustrous splendour of these little creatures. Here sitting down on a prostrate log in the shadow, I have watched them sipping all around, flitting to and fro, coming and going, every moment disappearing in the sombre shade, or suddenly flashing out, with a whirr like that of a spinning-wheel, into the bright sunshine. Bold and unsuspecting, they might be seen exploring bush after bush, and coming, while I remained motionless, even within arm's length of me, busily rifling all the blossoms in rapid succession, regularly quartering the surface of some favourite shrub, so as to lose none, and of course, in their zeal, frequently probing the same flower again and again. Sometimes it would be the Mango, suspending himself on whirring pinions in front of the flowers, his broadly-expanded tail-feathers of the richest violet, his body plumage all green and gold, and his cheeks and throat blazing, in the changing light, with the radiance now of the ruby, now of the amethyst, now of the sapphire, and now becoming for an instant the most intense black. But much more commonly on these occasions was I visited by the elegant Long-tail, whose slender form, black velvet crest, emerald bosom, and long tail-plumes, distinguish it as one of the principes of this patrician race. This lovely little gem would be hovering about, half-a-dozen visible at the same moment, threading the projecting branches, now probing here, now there, one moment above a flower and bending down to it, the next hanging below it, and thrusting up its crimson beak to kiss its nectar-tube from beneath, the cloudy wings on each side vibrating with a noise like that of a factory wheel, and its entire throat, breast and belly clothed in scaly plumage of the richest green, contrasted finely with the velvety black of all beside. This scaly plumage would flash brilliantly back the sun's light, like a noble emerald in the crown of a king; then, by the slightest possible turn of the bird, it would become black, all the light being absorbed; then, on another movement, it would seem a dark rich olive, and in an instant flame forth again with emerald effulgence, over which olive and black clouds were momentarily passing and repassing.
The phenomenon of this changing lustre is worthy of more careful attention than it has received. In such Humming-birds as I have examined,—and possibly it may be a general rule,—the iridescence of those portions of the plumage that are changeable is splendid in the ratio of the acuteness of the angle formed by the incident ray and the reflected one. Thus the scaly plumage of the neck of the Mango appears to advantage in a room with a single window, only when the beholder stands with his back to the light, and has the bird before him and facing him. Then the perpendicular band down the throat and breast, which seems composed of the richest black velvet, is bounded on each side by a broad band of glowing crimson, mingled with violet. It is not the entire plumage of even a Humming-bird that displays these refulgent gleams: some of the brilliant hues are permanent, not changeable colours; such as the golden greens which adorn the back and wing-coverts in so many species; in which the colour is subject to little change, and the only effect produced by the alteration of the angle of the light is the transforming the tips of the feathers into the appearance of burnished gold.
Wilson[207] has remarked that the plumage of the Indigo finch (Fringilla cyanea) in certain lights appears of a rich sky-blue and in others of a vivid verdigris green, so that the same bird, in passing from one place to another before your eyes, seems to undergo a total change of colour. When the rays of light so fall on the plumage that the angle of the incident and reflected ray is acute, the colour is green, when obtuse, blue. I have myself noticed exactly the same thing in the brilliant changeable colour of insects,—as, for instance, the Cicindelæ of America, and the Emerald Virgin Dragonfly (Agrion Virginica.)
To return, however, to our Humming-birds, of which my readers will like to have one or two more described,—la crême de la crême, the very élite of this lovely little fairy population. If we were to cross the Atlantic to Brazil, track up the mighty Amazon some thirty days' sail, and a distance of a thousand miles, we should come to the mouth of the Rio Negro, where a remarkable change in the appearance of the water indicates a totally different region. Instead of the muddy water of the Amazon, resembling pea-soup, that of the Negro is intensely dark, but clear and limpid, every ripple sparkling like crystal. The land becomes high, and the river, some four miles wide, passes between lofty cliffs, crowned with the rich green walls of the primeval forest. The country is far more attractive than that on the Amazon; instead of a dead level, swampy and intersected by sluggish igaripés, or shallow ponds, overhung by impenetrably tangled thickets, and full of venomous flies, here are gentle hills, and tiny brooks of sparkling water, and a comparatively open forest, with bright clear glades in which the traveller may recline without persecution from the flies,—these pests being unknown on the "black waters." The ground is covered by evergreens of different species and exquisite forms, and many kinds of elegant ferns are growing in the valleys. There are few lianes or spinous briers stretching from tree to tree, obstructing free passage, but a thousand lesser vines drape the low tree tops with myriads of flowers, new and attractive to the visitor. Everywhere the forest is intersected by paths, some made by the inhabitants in their frequent rambles, others by wild animals that come to the water to drink; and along these the eager naturalist can readily pass to the feeding trees of many beautiful and peculiar birds.
Here are wont to haunt many varieties of the richly-hued trogons, unknown to the lower regions; and at any hour their plaintive note may be heard at intervals, as they sit moodily, singly or in pairs, on the branches, with the long tail outspread and drooping, watching for passing insects. Cuckoos of several kinds, their plumage glancing red in the subdued light, flit noiselessly through the woods, searching for caterpillars. Purple jays, in large flocks, alight on some berry-bearing tree, chattering and gesticulating, but shy and alert,—ready to start at the snapping of a twig. Motmots and chatterers in gayest hues,—scarlet, violet and blue,—are abundant. Goatsuckers, in exquisitely-blended and pencilled tones of colour, start from some shady glen where they are dozing away the day hours, and, flying a short distance on soft winnowing pinions, rest again, and seem to fall asleep in an instant. Showy manikins and tanagers of the brightest tints are flaunting in every bush: pigeons and doves of soberer hues are cooing their gentle complainings in the taller trees; and guans and curassows are marching with stately pace in the paths, picking here and there some delicate morsel; or running with loud harsh cry, with outstretched neck and rapid stride, as they detect approaching danger.[208]
Still, conspicuous above all are the Humming-birds, which, revelling in this region of the sun, are buzzing around the blossoming shrubs like insects. And pre-eminent among these is the Fiery Topaz, a name that attempts to express what neither title, nor description, nor coloured figure can adequately express,—its gemmeous magnificence and lustre. One of the first ornithologists of the age, the Prince of Canino, has assigned to the species the honour of being "inter Trochilides pulcherrimus." Description, however, I must give, for want of anything better, since, even if I possessed a living specimen, I could not exhibit its living radiance to all my readers: therefore, pray pay attention to the details, and imagine. The general hue of this imperial atom is a blazing scarlet, in fine contrast with which the head and lower part of the throat are deep velvet-black. The gorget of the throat is emerald green, with a cloud of delicate crimson in the centre. The lower part of the back, the rump and the upper tail-coverts are of that beautiful bronzed green which changes to orange gold, so frequently seen in this tribe; while the wing-quills and tail are purplish black, except the middle pair of feathers in the latter, which are very slender, project to a great length, and cross each other; these are green with a purple gloss.
Among the hundreds of species of this very lovely tribe that swarm in the intertropical regions of South America, I will select one more for its surpassing beauty. It is the Bar-tailed Comet. We must look for it in the temperate and equable valley of the Desaguedero, which leads out of Lake Titiçaça, the largest sheet of water on the South American continent, and famous in Peruvian tradition, as the scene where Mango Capac and Mama Ocollo surprised the barbarous aborigines by their first appearance. On one of the charming islets of this quiet lake, the two august strangers were seen, clothed in garments; and, declaring that they were the children of the sun long prophesied of, proceeded to teach their simple subjects the arts of civilisation, and to establish a regular government. We must search for our tiny Comet, too, in the cultivated plains that surround the Cerro of Potosi, that singular cone sixteen thousand feet in height, which is wholly composed of silver, and which is estimated to have yielded, during the three hundred years that have elapsed since the Indian exposed the solid silver, when he accidentally tore up a shrub by the roots,—the sum of two hundred millions of pounds sterling. The districts around, and specially the environs of the town of Chuquisaca, are adorned with a profusion of gardens and orchards, in which many European trees and flowers grow, as well as those of the tropics, the climate possessing the charms of many regions. In the shrubberies of the city, and in the gardens of the Indian cottages, as well as the slopes of the surrounding mountains, where the native groves and forests grow undisturbed, the brilliant Bar-tail may be seen during the summer months; but, as soon as the chilling winds of April tell of coming winter, the charming visitor becomes scarce, and flitting northward finds in the forests of Lower Peru the mild and balmy air which he loves. When the trees are in blossom, and particularly the apple-trees, which have been introduced from Europe, and are largely cultivated in orchards, the males may be seen shooting in and out among the foliage, like glowing coals of fire, chasing each other with shrill chirpings, and with surprising perseverance and acrimony. The fields of maize, and pulse, and other leguminous plants which are cultivated in the plains, receive a fair share of his attention; and the nopâleries, or cactus-gardens, where the cochineal insect is reared for those most valuable crimson and scarlet dyes, which far outshine the vaunted productions of ancient Tyre. The blossom of the nopâl is itself one of the most splendid of flowers. It begins to open as the sun declines, and is in full expanse throughout the night, shedding a delicious fragrance, and offering its brimming goblet, filled with nectareous juice, to thousands of moths, and other crepuscular and nocturnal insects. When the moon is at the full in those cloudless nights whose loveliness is known only in the tropics, the broad blossom is seen as a circular disk nearly a foot in diameter, very full of petals, of which the outer series are of a yellowish hue, gradually paling to the centre, where they shine in the purest white. The numerous recurving stamens surround the style which rises in the midst like a polished shaft, the whole glowing in its silvery beauty under the moonbeams, from the dark and matted foliage, and diffusing its delicious clove-like fragrance so profusely that the air is loaded with it for furlongs round.
Other species of Cactus and Cereus, some with yellow, and some with pink, and some with rich crimson blossoms,—the pride of our conservatories,—sprawl profusely in these gardens; and here the Bar-tail flaunts all day long sipping the nectar, and picking up myriads of minute insects which the blossoms attract, and which lodge in the honeyed recesses.
But it is time that the reader should know what sort of a bird this Bar-tailed Comet is. Attend, then, while I describe his ball-dress, more lustrous than any fair lady ever wore at Almack's. The head, neck, upper part of the back, and a considerable portion of the under surface, are light green, with reflections of burnished gold on the cheeks and forehead. The lower back is of a deep crimson. The throat flames like an emerald. The tail is the chief feature, the feathers being broad, and greatly lengthened, in regular graduation from the central ones to the outmost pair, which are double the length of the entire bird besides. The form of the tail is widely forked, its outline having a double curve, somewhat lyre-shaped. The tail-coverts are ruddy brown; and the feathers themselves are of the richest and most glowing fire-colour, incomparably lustrous; each feather being broadly tipped with velvety black. The graduation of the feathers throws these terminal black tips to a considerable distance from each other, and their alternation with the intermediate spaces of the fiery glow has an inconceivably charming effect, as the bird makes its rapid evolutions through the air, and whisks about among the flowers, with a velocity which the eye of the beholder can scarcely follow. It is very fond of certain long trumpet-shaped pendent blossoms, into which it penetrates so far, that nothing of it can be seen except the tips of its radiant forked tail projecting from the tube.
Another family of birds that is conspicuous for gorgeous beauty is that of the Pheasants. Our own familiar species, which is said to have been brought long ages ago from the banks of the Phasis in Colchis, by Jason in the Argo,—