Humming-birds 91 



being seen here for a second hovering in front of a flower, 

 with wings so quickly vibrating as to be almost invisible to 

 the eye, while in another second they are hovering many 

 yards away. Professor Ridgway, of the United States 

 National Museum, who has written an excellent mono- 

 graphic account of the Humming-birds, thus describes 

 the flight of a member of the Order " It often towers 

 above the trees, and then shoots off, like a little meteor, 

 at a right angle. At other times it quietly buzzes away 

 among the flowers near the ground. At one moment it is 

 poised over a diminutive weed, at the next it is seen at 

 a distance of forty yards, whither it has vanished with the 

 quickness of thought. During the heat of the day the 

 shady retreats beneath the trees are very often visited : 

 in the morning and evening the sunny banks, the verandahs 

 and other exposed situations are frequently resorted to." 



At the present time about five hundred species of 

 Humming-birds are known, and though a few of them 

 visit the United States in summer, the bulk of the species 

 are confined to what is called the Neotropical region, 

 which comprises Central and South America. Some of 

 the Humming-birds, such as the members of the genus 

 Phaethornis, are plainly coloured, with the sexes alike, but 

 the majority have brilliant metallic colours confined to the 

 male sex, the females being of much more sober tints. It 

 has been pointed out that this dull colouration is of a 

 distinct advantage for the protection of the eggs, as the 

 nest is built in an exposed position, being generally a little 

 cup-shaped structure of moss or wool, and thus the sitting 

 hen would be a conspicuous object if she carried the 

 flaunting metallic plumage of the male birds. Among the 

 Humming-birds we find the most extraordinary examples 

 of decorative plumage, and the ornaments are of all 

 kinds metallic crests, backs, throats, breast-shields, etc; 

 but no one of all the Order is more remarkable than the 



