LOPHORNIS ORNATUS.
Tufted Coquette.
Trochilw ornatus, Lath. Ind. Om., vol. i. p. 318.—Shaw, Mus. Leverianum, p. 130. pi. 7.—
Gmel. Edit, of Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 497.— Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii.
p. 345.
L e Hupe-Col, Buff. Higt. Nat. des Ois., tom. vi. p. 18.— lb. Sonn. Edit., tom. vii. p. 165.
L ’Oiseau mouche, dit Hivpecol de Cayenne, Buff. PI. Enl. 640. fig. 3.
L e Hwpecol, Vieill. Ois. dor., tom. i. p. 94. pis. 49, 50, 51.— lb. Nouv. Diet. d’Hist. Nat.,
tom. vii. p. 364.— lb. Ency. Méth. Om., part ii. p. 565.—Drapiez, Diet. Class.
d’Hist. Nat., tom. iv. p. 324.
Tufted-necked Humming Bird, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. ii. p. 784.—lb. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 348.
pi. lxxvii.—Jard. Nat. Lib. Humming Birds, vol. i. pp. 112 & 114. pis. 15 & 16.
Ornismya ornata, Less. Hist. Nat. des Ois. mou., pp. xl et 139. pl. 41.—lb. Hist. Nat. des
Troch., p. 77. pi. 24.
Mellisuga ornata, Gray and Mitch. Gen. o f Birds, vol. i. p. 113, Mellisuga, sp. 84.
Lophornis auratus, Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av., p. 83, Lophornis, sp. 1.
n m l oi'natus, lb. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1854, p. 257.
— ornata, Less. Ind. Gen. et Syn. des Ois. du Gen. Troch., p. xli.—lb. Traité d’Om.,
p. 285.—Gray, List o f Gen. o f Birds, 2nd Edit., p. 19.—Reichenb. Aufz. der
Colibris, p. 12.
T he Lophornis ornatus does not appear to have been known to Linnaeus, for I find no mention of it in the
12th or last Edition of his “ Systema N a tu r a ea good description of it, however, will he found in the 13th
or Gmelin’s Edition; this then appears to be the only member known at that time of a genus now comprising
many species, which, for grace and beauty, are second to none in the great family of the Trochilidae, and all of
which are decorated with elegant, lengthened and spangled neck-plumes, or magnificent crests; the former
being most conspicuous in some of the species, while in others, such as L. Megulus and L. Regime, the
beautiful crest is the more remarkable feature. The L . ornatus, 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 particularly numerous in
all the intermediate countries, of Demerara, Surinam,-and Cayenne; it is also equally abundant on the
island of Trinidad. Prince Maximilian 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 parts of the country, rather than in the
more wooded or forest districts.
The nest is a small round cup-shaped structure, composed of some cottony material bound together with
cobwebs, and decorated externally with small pieces of lichens and mosses.
So great a similarity reigns among the females of many species of the genus Lophornis, that it is very
difficult to distinguish the one from the other, especially as the highly ornamental neck-plumes of the male
are entirely absent in the other sex.
The male has the head and crest rich chestnut-red; upper surface and wing-coverts bronzy-green; wings
dark purplish-brown; across the lower part of the back a band of white; rump chestnut brown; upper tail-
coverts bronzy-green; tail dark chestnut-red, the two central feathers bronzy-green on their apical half, and
the lateral ones edged with brownish-black; forehead and throat luminous green; on each side of the neck
a series of graduated plumes of a light chestnut-red, with a spangle of luminous green at the tip of each ;
under surface bronzy-green ; bill fleshy-red, dark brown at the tip.
The female has the head and upper surface bronzy-green; a narrow band of white across the lower part
of the back; upper tail-coverts tipped with bronzy-red; tail bronzy-green, crossed near the extremity by a
broad dusky band and tipped with buff; lores and sides of the throat rufous; centre of the throat buffy-white,
with a small spot of black at the tip of each feather; an obscure band of white across the breast; under
surface bronzy-green.
The Plate represents two males and a female of the natural size. The pretty Orchid is copied from a
drawing of a Brazilian species kindly sent to me by Mr. Reeves of Rio de Janeiro.