THE HUMMING BIRDS. 



295 



magnified to the size of eagles, their structural differences would stand 

 out in very bold relief, and the many marked generic distinctions they 

 present would be far more clearly perceptible. n 



Variations in size: The variation in size, while very considerable, is 

 not greater than in some other groups of birds, as, for instance, the 

 diurnal birds of prey and the crow family. While as a family, or group, 

 the Humming Birds are the smallest of birds, many kinds are consid- 

 erably larger than the smallest Passerine birds, as the Kinglets, Creep- 

 ers, and smaller Wrens; while, owing to their shorter, more scale-like 

 feathering, and greater compactness of body, many Humming Birds far 

 exceed in actual bulk and weight the above-mentioned members of the 

 Oscinine Sub-Order. 



The giant of Humming Birds is the Patagona gigas, a plainly colored 

 species inhabiting the higher portions of the Andes range (from Chile 

 to Ecuador), which in bulk equals a good-sized Swift, being about 8J 

 inches in length, with the wing 5 inches or more and the tail nearly 4 

 inches. The smallest known species is Princess Helena's Humming 

 Bird (Calypte lielence, GOULD), of Cuba, the entire bulk of which is much 

 less than the head alone of the Giant Hummer, the total length being 

 only about 2J inches. The distinction of being the smallest among 

 birds has usually been accorded to the Vervain Humming Bird (Melli- 

 suga minima}, of Jamaica, but that it is considerably larger than the 

 Cuban Calypte, the following comparative measurements will show: 



We are fortunately able to show, in the accompanying plates, full- 

 length, natural size drawings of the Giant and Vervain Hummers, the 

 latter with its nest and eggs.* 



The nest of the Vervain Humming Bird measures only about three- 

 fourths of an inch in diameter across the cavity, and a little more than 

 an inch in total diameter, while the eggs are only about 0.28 of an inch 

 in length by 0.20 of an inch in width. 



The accompanying illustration shows the male and the nest and eggs 

 of this species, natural size. 



Variations of the bill. The extremes of length in this member are 

 represented in the genera Docimastes and Rliamplwmicron, in both of 

 which it is straight. In the former it exceeds in length the combined 

 length of the head, neck, body, and tail of the bird itself, being some- 

 times as much as 4J (or according to Mr. Gould, sometimes more than 

 5) inches in extent. In the smallest species of the latter genus, R, 



* The discovery that Calypte lielence is smaller than M. minima was not made until 

 after the drawing of the latter was completed. 



