INSESSORES. 355 



part of a highly active life in the air. The humming noise made 

 by these birds, is produced by the extremely rapid movement of 

 their wings. 



The tongue is their principal organ for obtaining their food in 

 the honied juices of flowers and insects ; and like that of the 

 Wood-peckers, it is so framed, that it can be darted out of the 

 bill, as a spring suddenly released from its restraint. It is of such 

 a length, that it can be protruded some distance from the bill. 

 The long and slender beak comes admirably in aid for inserting 

 the tongue into the nectaria of flowers. The sight of the Hum 

 ming-Birds is very acute within the range required for its exer 

 cise, as is also the sense of hearing. 



The females are without the splendid plumage of the males, 

 and are clothed in modest dress. Some species living, as they 

 do, from ten to fifteen thousand feet above the level of the sea, 

 have the tarsi warmly and largely protected with white plumelets, 

 and look as if they had downy muffs on their legs. 



Humboldt notices the religious belief of the Mexicans, that 

 Toyamiqui, the spouse of the god of war, conducted the souls of 

 those warriors who had died in defence of the gods, into the 

 mansions of the sun, and transformed them into humming-birds; 

 and it must be owned, they form an image of the soul, scarcely 

 less spiritual than the butterfly of the Greeks. 



The nests of these birds are as wonderful as any that are 

 made. (Plate XI. fig. 9.) They vary greatly in form and 

 structure; but in all, the soft and delicate materials are so put 

 together as to furnish as much warmth as possible, that being 

 an object of the highest importance when the body of the ani 

 mal is generally so small, and the quantity of animal heat 

 given out accordingly diminished. The eggs are two in num 

 ber, of an elongated form, and in some species, extraordinarily 

 small. These birds are very valiant in defence of their nests. 

 When attending their young, they attack any bird, indiscrimi 

 nately, which approaches the nest. This display of valor, it 

 is suggested, probably fostered the Mexican belief, that the 

 bodies of these diminutive creatures contained the souls of slain 

 warriors. 



Among the most beautiful species, are the Sickle-winged 

 Humming-Bird, T.falcatus, (Lat. from falx, a sickle ;) the Re- 

 curved-bill Humming-Bird. T. recurvirostris, (Lat. recurved- 

 beak;) Gould s Humming-Bird, Ornismus, (Gr. Bird-mouse.) 

 GouUii; the Bar-tailed Humming-Bird, (Plate XI. fig. 9,) T. 

 sparganurus, (Gr. baud -tailed ;) the Double-crested Humming- 



