HUMMING-BIRDS. 587 



HUMMING-BIRDS. (Trochilus. Lin.) 



The BILL long, straight or curved, very slender, the base depress- 

 ed, and as wide as the forehead, the point sharp ; the edges of the 

 upper mandible covering the lower so as to render the bill tubular; 

 MOUTH very small. Nostrils basal, linear, covered by a turgid mem- 

 brane. Tongue very long and extensible, entire at base, divided 

 from the middle upwards. Feet very short; tarsus short and slender, 

 more or less feathered ; fore toes almost wholly divided ; nails short, 

 much curved and retractile, compressed and acute, hind one often 

 shorter than the others. Wings long and acute, 1st primary longest 

 and curved, the others successively shortening. Tail mostly of 10 

 feathers. 



These birds differ considerably in appearance according to age 

 and sex ; the colors are brilliant and metallic, and the high tinted 

 feathers of a rigid texture. They associate only in pairs; the young 

 often brought together accidentally in small companies, but live sep- 

 arate from the old. The flight is extremely rapid ; with the wungs 

 constantly moving with a humming sound, so as to produce a bal- 

 ancing suspension in the air while feeding on the nectar of flowers ; 

 each of the primaries even, provided with a separate motion. They 

 scarcely walk, resting and roosting upon the larger branches of trees. 

 The nest attached to a branch or a leaf, (rarely pensile.*) The eggs 

 are 2, and white. — They are peculiar to America, and almost exclu- 

 sively tropical. 



Subgenus — Mellisuga. Briss. Bonap. 

 With the bill straight. 



* A species with a widely decussated tail, described by Waterton, as inhabiting 

 Demerara, is said to make a pendulous nest, like paper, near water-courses ; it 

 is also nearly nocturnal, feeding on insects chiefly by the morning and evenin" twi- 

 light. 



