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.
[Illustration: 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."
* * * * *
The WOOD-NYMPHS (_Lampornis_) possess a straight or moderately-curved
beak, which is broad at its base and incised at its extremity; the long
toes are armed with short, high, and very decidedly-hooked claws; the
wings are slender, and the tail broad, rounded or slightly incised at its
extremity. The sexes vary considerably in their coloration.