280 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1890. 



occasioually the fomalcs will light with all the ardor displayed by the males. The 

 mimic contests thus hinted at rather than described — for the fury and spirit dis- 

 played in their battles must be seen to be appreciated — are continued all day long, 

 and were the strength of the combatants at all proportionate to their fury the prob- 

 lem of Hummiug-Bird life would simply resolve itself down to a question of the sur- 

 vival of the strongest. But the tiny strength of these pigmies, though backed by 

 never so much warlike spirit, is scarcely sufficient to detach a feather from each 

 other's gleaming bodies, and even at the close of the season the male birds show 

 little wear and tear and are in prime condition as regards their plumage. 



If they have occasion to fear each other — and sometimes I have thought they fight 

 merely for the pure fun of it — they fear nothing else. About our camp, where were 

 a few clumps of the Scrophularla, they were especially fearless, and provided one 

 remained reasonably quiet they would approach within 2 or .3 feet. Wheu in such 

 proximity their sharp eyes were constantly on the watch, and a hostile movement 

 sent them away like streaks of flame. By gradual approach, however, I was able 

 on several occasions to strike one down with my hat and secure it uninjured before 

 it recovered either presence of mind or strength to get on wing. 



On another occasion, Mr. Heusbaw observed that '' they manifested 

 an especial animosity against the Broad-tailed Hummer {Selasphonis 

 platycereus), and, on the appearance of one would instantly dart forth 

 with shrill, angry notes, and attack and drive away the intruder, while 

 the female, sitting on some neighboring tree, would watch the oft- 

 repeated contest with evident interest and solicitude." 



Dr. Edgar A. Mearus once saw a Ruby-throat {Trochilus colubrk) 

 attack a pair of Downy Woodpeckers upon the tree which it had 

 chosen for its nest, and drive them off, while he also saw one dart furi- 

 ously at a small red toy balloon which a boy was flying in a field. 



That their contests with one another are not always of a sportive 

 character, as suggested by Mr. Henshaw, is shown by Mr. Gosse's 

 observations on the Jamaican species, which are recorded as follows: 



The pugnacity of the Humming Bird has been often spoken of; two of one s|)ecies 

 can rarely suck flowers from the same bush without a rencontre. I once witnessed a 

 combat between two, which was prosecuted with much pertinacity and protracted to 

 an unusual length. In the garden were two trees of the kind called Malay Api>le 

 (Eugenia malaccensis), one of which was but a yard or two from my window. The 

 genial influence of the spring rains had covered them with a profusion of beautiful 

 blossoms, each consistiug of a multitude of crimson stamens, with very minute 

 petals, like bunches of crimson tassels; but the leaf buds were only beginning to 

 open. A Humming Bird had every day and all day long been paying his devoirs to 

 these charming blossoms. On the morning to which I allude, another came, and 

 the mauouvers of these two tiny creatures became very interesting. They chased 

 each other through the labyrinths of twigs ana flowers, till, an opportunity occur- 

 ring, the one would dart with seeming fury upon the other, and then, with a loud 

 rustling of their wings, they would twirl together round and round, till they nearly 

 came to the earth. It was some time before I could see, with any distinctness, what 

 took place in these tussles; their twirlings were so rapid as to baffle all attempts at 

 discrimination. At length an encounter took place pretty close to me, and I per- 

 ceived that the beak of the one grasped the beak of the other, and thus fastened both 

 whirled round and round iu their perpendicular descent, the point of contact being 

 the center of the gyrations, till, when another second would have brojght them both 

 on the ground, they separated, and the one chased the other for about 100 yards, and 

 then returned in triumph to the tree, where, perched on a lofty twig, ho chirped 

 monotonously and pertinaciously for some time —I could not help thinking, iu 



