Humming-Birds FOR): 
It was a beautiful sight to see this bird hovering over the 
pool, turning from side to side by quick jerks of its tail, now 
showing its throat a gleaming emerald, now its shoulders 
a glistening amethyst, then darting beneath the water, and 
rising instantly, throw off a shower of spray from its quiver- 
ing wings, and fly up to an overhanging bough and commence 
to preen its feathers. All humming-birds bathe on the wing, 
and generally take three or four dips, hovering, between 
times, about three inches above the surface. 
Sometimes when the last-mentioned species was suspended 
over the water, its rapidly vibrating wings showing like a 
mere film, a speck shot down the valley, swift as an arrow, 
as white as a snowflake, and stopping suddenly over the pool, 
startled the emerald-throat, and frightened it up amongst 
the overhanging branches. The intruder was the white-cap 
(Microchera parvirostris, Lawr.), the smallest of thirteen 
different kinds of humming-birds that I noticed around 
Santo Domingo; being only a little more than two and a half 
inches in length, including the bill; but it was very pug- 
nacious, and I have often seen it drive some of the larger 
birds away from a flowering tree. Its body is purplish-red, 
with green reflections, the front of its head flat and pearly 
white, and, when flying towards one, its white head is the 
only part seen. Sometimes the green-throat would hold 
its ground, and then it was comical to see them hovering 
over the water, jerking round from side to side, eyeing each 
other suspiciously, the one wishing to dip, but apparently 
afraid to do so, for fear the other would take a mean advan- 
tage, and do it some mischief whilst under water; though 
what harm was possible I could not see, as there were no 
clothes to steal. I have seen human bathers acting just like 
the birds, though from a different cause, bobbing down 
towards the water, but afraid to dip their heads, and the 
idea of comicality arose, as it does in most of the ludicrous 
actions of animals, from their resemblance to those of man- 
kind. The dispute would generally end by the green-throat 
giving way, and leaving the pugnacious little white-cap in 
possession of the pool. 
Besides the humming-birds I have mentioned, there were 
four or five other small ones that we used to call squeakers, 
as it is their habit for a great part of the day to sit motionless 
