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."
[Illustration: 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.