288 THE HUMMING-BIRD. 



ing as if they could not exist for a moment beyond the 

 confines of a sunbeam, they are, nevertheless, scattered 

 very extensively over the whole continent of America : 

 they were found in the desolate regions of the south, 

 near Cape Horn, hovering over the fuchsia blossoms at 

 Port Famine, and even flying about in snow-storms. In 

 the north, they have been seen in the still more dreary 

 regions of Prince William's Sound, on the same parallel 

 of latitude as the Shetland Islands, to the north of Scot- 

 land ; and, what is even more extraordinary, they were 

 discovered on the snowy heights of the Orizaba moun- 

 tains, three times the height of Snowdon above the level 

 of the sea. In all these desolate situations they seemed 

 as lively as when under the influence of burning sun- 

 beams near the equator. It was in one of these latter 

 situations that Mr. Bullock, who visited Mexico with a 

 view to the natural history of a country then scarcely 

 known, saw how ingeniously these little birds contrived 

 to rob the webs of the spiders of that country, of the 

 flies that were entangled in them. They would advance 

 beneath the web, and enter the various labyrinths and 

 cells, taking care to make good their retreat, if the 

 spider sallied forth to repel them. In ascending some 

 of the spider's fly-traps great skill and care were re- 

 quired ; sometimes the bird had scarcely room for his 

 little wings to spread, and the least mismanagement 

 would have insnared him in the meshes of the web, and 

 insured his destruction. It was only the outworks of 

 the comparatively small spiders, of about his own size, 

 that the Humming-bird durst attack, as the larger sort 

 rushed out in defence of their property, when the robber 

 would shoot off like a sunbeam, and could be only traced, 

 like an electric spark, by the luminous glow of its reful- 

 gent colours. 



