Colophon

Appendix. Colophon

The animals on the cover of The Ruby Programming
Language are Horned Sungem hummingbirds (Heliactin
bilophus). These small birds are native to South America, living
mainly in Brazil and Bolivia. They prefer dry, open habitats such as
grasslands, and they avoid dense or humid forests.

Hummingbirds have the fastest wingbeat of all birds, and the Horned
Sungem is capable of 90 wingbeats per second. (Contrast that with the
vulture, the slowest of all birds, capable of just 1 wingbeat per second.)
Because hummingbirds are so fast and light, they are able to hover in
mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings. They can also fly backward (the
only birds who can do so) in order to keep position as they drink nectar
from flowers. Their long, thin bills allow them to reach deep within
blossoms. Fittingly, the Portuguese word for hummingbird is
beija-flor, or "the bird that kisses flowers." The
English word, of course, comes from the hum made by its fast-moving
wings.

The male Horned Sungem has tufts of red, blue, and gold feathers on
either side of its head. Its back is iridescent green, its throat and breast
are black, and its belly is white. It has a long, pointed tail. The female
looks similar to the male but lacks the dramatic crown pattern. Because of
the hummingbird's vibrant colors, early Spanish explorers named it
Joyas voladoras, or "flying jewel."

There are many myths about hummingbirds. In Brazil, a black
hummingbird is a sign of a death in the family. The ancient Aztecs honored
them, and priests used staffs covered with their feathers to remove curses.
The hummingbird is also a symbol of resurrection, as Aztecs believed that
dead warriors were reincarnated as these birds. The Aztec god of the Sun and
war, Huitzilopochtli, was represented as one; his name means "Hummingbird
from the south," the south being the location of the spirit world.

The cover image is from J. G. Wood's Animate
Creation. The cover font is Adobe's ITC Garamond. The text font
is Linotype Birka, the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed, and the code
font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed.