THE HUMMING BIRDS. 155 
verdure of a perpetual Summer, these gems of the 
forest sport their charms amid the sweets of a thous- 
and flowers. 
Although by far the largest number of species of 
the Humming Birds are found in the West Indies, 
the Brazils, and those countries which lie adjacent 
to the Equator, yet these are by no means the lim- 
its to which they are confined: they enjoy probably 
the most extensive range of country, and experience 
the greatest variety of climate, of any known family. 
The continents of North and South America, from 
Nootka Sound on the northwest and Canada on the 
northeast, to Terra del Fuego on the south, can alone 
be given as the limits of their migrations. The beau- 
tiful and lovely little bird discovered by Captain Cook 
on the borders of Nootka Sound, and which inhabits 
the whole northwest coast, is a lonely representative 
of the genus in the ornithology of those parts; while 
in Canada and the United States, the little Ruby- 
throated Humming Bird is, during Summer, a wel- 
come delegate of the tribe. And although it does 
not, like the Wood Thrush, sit and regale us by its 
melodious song, yet we are none the less attracted by 
its tiny form, its activity and gracefulness as it flits 
from flower to flower, and gaze with admiration upon 
the sparkling of its jewelled breast. 
As we advance farther south the species become 
more numerous; in Mexico and Guatemala we find 
upwards of thirty or forty species; while in the West 
Indies and the vast expanse of Central America, 
there are comparatively few members of the family 
