Near to Cephalepis is the genus Klais, of which but one species is known. This singular bird, which has no ornamental crest, and but little fine colouring to recommend it to our notice, is a native of Venezuela and the hilly parts of New Granada. The females of this form are much less highly coloured than the males.
Klais Guimeti
Habitat: Venezuela and the Andes of New Granada.
Plate 210
Klais Guimeti
Guimet’s Flutterer
“In the district of El Mineral” in New Granada, says Dr. Merritt, “there has been a slight attempt at cultivation of the soil and planting of fruit-trees. The Orange, the Guama, and Guayava trees are the most numerous, particularly the last-named, which is very prolific, bearing nearly throughout the year fruit in all its stages from the blossom to maturity. Consequently the Guayava tree is the favourite resort of the Humming-Bird. I often watched these little creatures feeding and quarrelling around a tree near the door of my palm-leaf hut; and soon my attention was attracted to one much smaller than the rest, whose pugnacity and indomitable ‘pluck’ greatly amused me. Upon closer examination of this diminutive feathered warrior my interest increased, as I soon became convinced that it was new to me. I frequently afterwards saw numerous specimens of it, and almost invariably encountered them feeding from the blossoms of the Guayava, and I therefore conclude they are quite local in their habitat.”
Featuring all 422 illustrated species from John Gould’s A Monograph of the Trochilidæ, or Family of Humming-Birds arranged by color.
Humming-Birds