to be nearly the same
as in the bird, the extended proboscis representing the long beak. At
the tip of the moth's body there is a brush of long hair-scales,
resembling feathers, which, being expanded, looks very much like a
bird's tail; but, of course, all these points of resemblance are merely
superficial.

He one day saw a little pigmy, belonging to the genus Phaethornis, in
the act of washing itself in a brook. It was perched on a thin branch,
whose end was under water. It dipped itself, then fluttered its wings,
and plumed its feathers, and seemed thoroughly to enjoy itself alone in
the shady nook which it had chosen. "There is no need for poets to
invent," he adds, "while nature furnishes us with such marvellous little
sprites ready to hand."

But these beautiful little creatures require a separate description.

TOPAZ HUMMING-BIRD.

The topaz humming-bird is perhaps the most resplendent and beautiful of
its tribe. The fiery topaz (Topaza pyra) is found on the shores of the
Rio Negro. The larger part of its feathers are of a blazing scarlet,
which contrasts beautifully with the deep velvet-black of the head and
part of the neck. The throat is emerald-green, with a patch of crimson
in the centre. The lower part of the back, and the upper tail-coverts,
are of a resplendent green with an orange gloss; and the wings and tail
of purple-black, the two elongated feathers of the tail excepted--they
being of a purplish-green. Its nest appears as if formed of leather,
and is so cleverly woven that it can scarcely be distinguished from the
bark or fungi growing on the branch to which it is fixed.

ARA HUMMING-BIRD.

The crimson topaz, or ara humming-bird (Topaza pella), vies with it in
beauty. Its hues are of a deeper crimson. The tail is of a
reddish-buff, except the two central feathers, which are of the same hue
as the preceding. Unlike most humming-birds, it is of a shy and
retiring disposition, and seldom ventures from among the deep shades of
the forest; and then only at early dawn, or late in the evening, when it
may be seen darting across the stream in search of insects, on which it
chiefly feeds.

THE RACKET-TAIL HUMMING-BIRD.

The racket-tail humming-bird (Discura longicauda) takes its name from
the curious form of its tail, the feathers of which are forked,--the two
exterior ones being twice the length of the second pair. The colour of
the tail is purple-black; the face, throat, and part of t