502 Mr. G. E. Lodge on some 



always so. When beginning to get alarmed on its perch it 

 will stretch out its neck and draw all its feathers close in 

 to the body, showing its shape to perfection. On such 

 occasions one can clearly see the remarkable depth of the 

 breastj caused by the deep keel to the sternum. I suppose 

 that the pectoral muscles of Humming-birds are larger, in 

 proportion to the size of the bird, than those of any other 

 bird in the world ; and well may they have such mighty 

 muscles, when one comes to consider the enormously powerful 

 and sustained flight of the bird. When Humming-birds are 

 hovering, too, this shape is very apparent. 



The Mango bird seems to be rather more partial to open 

 country than is the Long-tail, and may often be seen 

 by the roadside in an open pasture- country with only a 

 few scattered trees about. The curious bloom of the 

 banana is a favourite hunting-place for them, and Banana 

 Humming-bird would be a much more appropriate name 

 than Mango Humming-bird, as I never once saw it on a 

 mango-tree ; in fact, I do not think I ever saw a Humming- 

 bird of any kind on a mango-tree. This species is also 

 very fond of the splendid hibiscus flowers. It does not 

 seem to be nearly so plentiful as A. polytmus, which appears 

 to be by far the most common of the three kinds found in 

 Jamaica. A very noticeable feature in regard to the habitats 

 of the difi'erent sexes of the latter bird is, that whereas the 

 male bird is almost invariably found among dense thickets 

 and deep gullies, especially where the rose-apple abounds, 

 the female bird is promiscuously present in every kind of 

 situation, as often by bleak roadsides, feeding among the 

 convolvuli that grow over the boundary-walls and other 

 flowering plants among the low herbage, as in the haunts 

 of its handsome mate ; and it is also very familiar among 

 houses, coming every few minutes of the day to feed among 

 the creepers that commonly grow over the verandas, being 

 so fearless that a spectator a few feet off does not alarm it. 

 As a rule, in rainy weather Humming-birds sit close among 

 thick bushes, waiting patiently for the rain to stop. But on 

 one occasion a female A. polytmus came to our veranda and 



