112 HABITS AND MIGRATION. 



of Humming-birds clinging in a deathlike tranc 

 to some object during winter : 



" This little bird, viz. the RUBY-THROAT, i*> 

 extremely susceptible of cold, and if long de- 

 prived of the animating influence of the sun- 

 beams soon droops and dies. A very beautiful 

 male was brought to me this season 1809, 

 \\hich I put into a wire cage, and placed in a 

 retired shaded part of the room. After flutter- 

 ing about for some time, the weather being un- 

 commonly cool, it clung to the wires and hung 

 in a seemingly torpid state for a whole forenoon. 

 No motion of the lungs could be perceived on 

 the closest inspection, though at other times 

 this is remarkably observable ; the eyes were 

 shut, and when touched by the finger it gave no 

 signs of life or motion. I carried it out to the 

 open air, and placed it directly in the rays of 

 the sun in a sheltered situation. In a few se- 

 conds respiration became very apparent, the bird 

 breathed faster and faster, opened its eyes and 

 began to look about with as much seeming viva- 

 city as ever. After it had completely recovered 

 I restored it to liberty, and it flew off" to the 

 withered top of a pear-tree, where it sat for 

 some time dressing its disordered plumage, and 

 then shot ofl 7 like a meteor." It is an undoubted 

 fact that benumbed Swallows, Cuckoos, and Land- 

 rails have been found in our island during the 

 winter months concealed, for the sake of shelter. 

 in obscure retreats, half starved, half dead, but 



