366 THE HUMMINGBIRD. 



But the most wonderful characteristic of our Humming- 

 bird, perhaps, considering his tropical relationships, is the 

 great northern range of his summer habitat. Excepting 

 several western species, which migrate along the Rocky 

 Mountains and westward to a pretty high latitude, the four 

 hundred species and upwards which make up the family 

 of Hummingbirds, are found almost entirely in tropical 

 America. They are creatures associated with the high tem- 

 peratures and the luxuriant flora of the American section 

 of the torrid zone. But our tiny wanderer goes all the way 

 through Eastern North America to the semi-frigid regions 

 of Labrador and Hudson's Bay. He is the great traveler 

 of his family. And with what a magic and spirit-like stroke 

 of the wing does he compass sea and land. He passes by 

 the lumbering strokes of the Heron, the Wild Goose or the 

 Eagle, almost like a streak of lightning, and sets at utter 

 defiance all the humming, buzzing wings of the insect 

 world. 



Our Ruby-throat is one of the plain and more diminutive 

 members of his family. In this relationship of hundreds, 

 while the unity binding them together is great, the strongly 

 marked variation characterizing the different groups is still 

 more remarkable. The Sabre-wings, the Coquettes, the 

 Rackets, the Puff-legs, the Sylphs, the Thorn-tails, the Star- 

 fronts, etc., have each their distinguishing peculiarities. 

 Whether we contemplate the snowy down of the Puff-leg, 

 the elegant crest of the Coquette, the pure white ruff of the 

 Ruff-neck tipped with scintillating spangles, the suspended 

 and fantastic patches on the tips of the long tails of the 

 Rackets, the glistening surface of the long scissors-shaped 

 tails of the Sylphs, the glowing points of the Star-fronts, or 

 the burning lustre of the Fiery Topaz, we see that the high- 

 est possible effect of both form and color is here attained. 



