are (the size of the stomach not exceed- 

 ing the globe of the eye, and scarcely a 

 sixth part as large as the heart, which, in 

 turn, is remarkably large, nearly the size 

 of the cranium), they cannot live by am- 

 brosia alone, nor yet by love, but must 

 vary both with an occasional relish of 

 aphides and infinitesimal spiders. 



Of "that Bird's two eggs," Mr. Chap- 

 man says : "^As far as known, all hum- 

 mingbirds lay two white eggs — frail, 

 pearly ellipses — that after ten days' incu- 

 bation develop into a tangle of dark limbs 

 and bodies, which no one could think of 

 calling birds, much less winged gems." 



It has been a matter of doubt to many 

 whether hummingbirds ever rested at all 

 or spent their lives in the air exclusively, 

 but Mr. Gould states authoritatively : 

 "Although many short intermissions of 

 rest are taken during the day, the bird 

 may be said to live in the air — an element 

 in which it performs every kind of evo- 

 lution with the utmost ease, frequently 

 rising perpendicularly, flying backwards, 

 pirouetting or dancing off, as it were." 



It was the belief of the Duke of Argyle 

 that no bird could fly backward, a theory 

 that he stated with emphasis in his Reign 

 of Law, but it has been proved that he 

 reckoned without "the winglet of the 

 fairy hummingbird," which seems to be 

 the exception to prove a reigning law of 

 Nature. 



Montgomery makes of the whole Tro- 

 chilidse family this inspired explana- 

 tion : 



"Art thou a bird, a bee, or butterfly? 

 'Each and all three ; — a bird 

 A bee collecting sweets from bloom to bloom, 

 A butterfly in brilliancy of plume.' " 



The blooms from which he collects his 

 sweets are of the tubular flowers almost 

 exclusively, as a mark, possibly, of his 

 appreciation of their invention for him 

 and at his request, as told by Albert Bige- 

 low Paine : 



''The clover, said the humming-bird, 

 Was fashioned for the bee. 

 But ne'er a flower, as I have heard. 

 Was ever made for me. 



A passing zephyr paused, and stirred 

 Some moonlit drops of dew 

 To earth ; and for the humming-bird 

 The honeysuckle grew." 



Of his manner of hanging before his 

 tubular flowers Goodrich says : "He 

 poises or suspends himself on wing for 

 the space of two or three seconds so 

 steadily that his wings become invisible 

 and you can plainly discern the pupil of 

 his eye, looking round with great quick- 

 ness and circumspection. The glossy 

 green of his back and the fire of his 

 throat, dazzling in the sun, form alto- 

 gether a most interesting appearance." 



This appearance Alexander Wilson 

 pictures thus : 



"While richest roses though in crimson drest. 

 Spring from the splendors of his gorgeous 



breast. 

 What heavenly tints in mingling radiance fly! 

 Each rapid movement gives a different dye ; 

 Like scales of burnished gold they dazzling 



show, 

 Now sink to shade, now like a furnace glow !" 



It is little wonder that Buffon ex- 

 claimed, "Nature has loaded it with all 

 the gifts of which she has only given oth- 

 er birds a share !" Yet Mr. Ridgway 

 considers the Count de Buffon's lauda- 

 tion as excessive because the "absence of 

 melodious voice is, as a rule, a conspic- 

 uous deficiency of the tribe" ; and in 1693 

 ]\Ir. Hammersley of Coventry stated, 

 "God, in many of his creatures, is bounti- 

 ful, but not lavish, for I did observe the 

 hummingbirds for several years, and nev- 

 er heard them sing." 



Goldsmith says that all travelers agree 

 that they have a little interrupted chir- 

 rup, but Labat asserts that they have a 

 most pleasing melancholly melody in their 

 voices, though small and proportioned to 

 the organs that produce it. 



It is known that a few of the more ro- 

 bust species of Jamaica and Mexico war- 

 ble a pigmy melody, and Mr. Gosse says 

 that the Vervain hummingbird of Jamai- 

 ca is the only one known to him that has 

 a real song, warbling in a very weak but 

 very sweet tone a continuous melody for 

 ten minutes at a time. 



But the poet Rogers apprehended 

 something more than is perceptible to the 

 scientific consciousness, for he exclaims 

 in The Voyage of Columbus : 



" — There quivering rise 



Wings that reflect the glow of evening skies ! 

 Half bird, half fly, the fairy king of flowers 

 Reigns there, and revels through the fragrant 



hours ; 

 Gem full of life and joy and song divine!" 



