Volume 3, Plate XXIV / Ornithology (Birds)

Topaz-Throated Humming-Bird

Trochilus pella

One of the most splendid of the race, from Cayenne and Guiana, a large bird clothed in scaly metallic feathers, its body a rich brownish-orange shifting from deepest lake to brilliant ruby tinged golden, the gorget alternately topaz-yellow or emerald-green bordered near velvet-black. The centre tail feathers exceed the rest by nearly three inches, the wings are long and powerful, the tarsi feathered to the toes, and it frequents riverbanks chasing insects.