THE 
ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL. 
January— May, 1829. 
Art. I. Extract of a Letter from Capt. Lyon, R.N., 
Corr. Member Z.S8., §c., to a Friend in England, dated 
Gongo Soco, Brazil, 17th March, 1829. 
I am too closely confined here, and too constantly occupied to attend 
much to Natural History, or any thing except the mines; but it may 
interest you to have an account of some young Humming Birds whose 
hatching and education I studiously attended, as the nest was made in a 
little orange bush by the side of a frequented walk in my garden. It 
was composed of the silky down of a plant, and covered with small flat 
pieces of yellow lichen. The first egg was laid January 26th, the 
* second on the 28th, and two little creatures like bees made their appear- 
ance on the morning of February 14th. As the young encreased in 
size, the mother built her nest higher and higher, ‘so that from 
having at first the form of figure 1, it became ultimately like figure 2 
Ly YAW 
“Y“nyip 
i Pp 
The old bird sat very close during a continuance of the heavy rain for 
several days and nights. The young remained blind until February 28th, 
Vou, V. 4 
74 
