THE HUMMING BIRDS. 155 



verdure of a perpetual Summer, these gems of the 

 forest sport their charms amid the sweets of a thous- 

 and flowers. 



Although by far the largest number of species of 

 the Humming Birds are found in the West Indies, 

 the Brazils, and those countries which lie adjacent 

 to the Equator, yet these are by no means the lim- 

 its to which they are confined : they enjoy probably 

 the most extensive range of country, and experience 

 the greatest variety of climate, of any known family. 

 The continents of North and South America, from 

 Nootka Sound on the northwest and Canada on the 

 northeast, to Terra del Fuego on the south, can alone 

 be given as the limits of their migrations. The beau- 

 tiful and lovely little bird discovered by Captain Cook 

 on the borders of Nootka Sound, and which inhabits 

 the whole northwest coast, is a lonely representative 

 of the genus in the ornithology of those parts; while 

 in Canada and the United States, the little Ruby- 

 throated Humming Bird is, during Summer, a wel- 

 come delegate of the tribe. And although it does 



* ^j 



not, like the Wood Thrush, sit and regale us by its 

 melodious song, yet we are none the less attracted by 

 its tiny form, its activity and gracefulness as it flits 

 from flower to flower, and gaze with admiration upon 

 the sparkling of its jewelled breast. 



As we advance farther south the species become 

 more numerous ; in Mexico and Guatemala we find 

 upwards of thirty or forty species ; while in the West 

 Indies and the vast expanse of Central America, 

 there are comparatively few members of the family 



