The CRIMSON TOPAZ HUMMING BIRD (_Topaza pella_), one of the most splendid
species of this highly bedizened group, has the crown of the head and a
line about the throat of velvety blackness; the rump is copper-colour,
shading into rich deep red, and glistening with a golden light; the
wing-covers are green; the throat is golden in some lights, emerald-green
in others, glancing with the yellow radiance of the topaz; the quills are
reddish brown; the centre tail-feathers, which project three inches beyond
the rest, are chestnut-brown, and those at the exterior reddish brown. The
female is principally of a greenish hue, with a red throat, and is far
less resplendent than her mate. The length of this bird, including the
long tail-feathers, exceeds eight inches.
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.