THE HUMMING BIRDS. 361 



edges of these tiles to the branches of the trees in the garden the spiders had spread 

 their innumerable webs so closely and compactly that they resembled a net. I have 

 frequently watched, with much amusement, the cautious peregrination of the Hum- 

 ming Bird, who, advancing beneath the web, entered the various labyrinths and 

 cells in search of entangled flies, but, as the larger spiders did not tamely surrender 

 their booty, the invader was often compelled to retreat; being within a few feet, I 

 could observe all their evolutions with great precision. The active little bird gen- 

 erally passed once or twice around the court, as if to reconnoiter his ground, and 

 commenced his attack by going carefully under the nets of the wily insect and seiz- 

 ing by surprise the smallest entangled flies, or those that were most feeble. In 

 ascending the angular traps of the spider, great care and skill were required; some- 

 times he had scarcely room for his little wings to perform their office, and the least 

 deviation would have entangled him in the complex machinery of the web and 

 involved him in ruin. It was only the works of the smaller spider that he durst 

 attack, as the larger sort rose to the defense of their citadels, when the besieger 

 would shoot off like a sunbeam and could only be traced by the luminous glow of his 

 refulgent colors. The bird generally spent about 10 minutes in this predatory excur- 

 sion and then alighted on a branch of the Avocata to rest and refresh himself, placing 

 his crimson star-like breast to the sun, which then presented all the glowing tire of 

 the ruby and surpassed in luster the diadem of monarchs. Europeans who have 

 seen only the stuffed remains of these little feathered gems in museums have been 

 charmed with their beautiful appearance, but those who have examined them whilst 

 living, displaying their moving crests, throats, and tails, like the Peacock, in the 

 sun, can never look with pleasure on their mutilated forms. I have carefully pre- 

 served about two hundred specimens in the best possible manner, yet they are still 

 but the shadow of what they were in real life. The reason is obvious, for the sides 

 of the lamina? or fibers of each feather, being of a different color from the surface, will 

 change wiieu seen in a front or oblique direction, and, as each lamina or fiber turns 

 upon the axis of the quill, the least motion, when living, causes the feathers to 

 change suddenly to the most opposite hues. Thus the one from Nootka Sound 

 changes its expanded throat from the most vivid fire color to light green; the Topaz- 

 throated does the same, and the Mexican Star changes from bright crimson to blue. 



"The sexes vary greatly in their plumage, so much so that the male and female 

 could not have been known had they not been seen constantly together and proved 

 to be so by dissection. They breed in Mexico in June and July; and the nest is a 

 beautiful specimen of the architectural talent of these birds; it is neatly constructed 

 with cotton or the down of the thistle, to which is fastened on the outside, by some 

 glutinous substance, a white, flat lichen resembling ours. 



"The female lays two eggs, perfectly white and large for the size of the bird; and 

 the Indians informed me they were hatched in 3 weeks by the male and female 

 sitting alternately. When attending their young they attack any bird indiscrim- 

 inately that approaches the nest. Their motions when under the influence of anger 

 or fear are very violent, and their flight rapid as an arrow ; the eye can not follow 

 them ; but the shrill, piercing shriek which they utter on the wing may be heard 

 when the bird is invisible. They attack the eyes of the larger birds, and their sharp, 

 needlelike bill is a truly formidable weapon in this kind of warfare. Nothing can 

 exceed their fierceness when one of their own species invades their territory during 

 the breeding season. Under the influence of jealousy they become perfect furies; 

 their throats swell, their crests, tails, and wings expand ; they fight in the air (utter- 

 ing a shrill noise) till one falls exhausted to the ground. I witnessed a combat of 

 this kind near Otumba during a heavy fall of rain, every separate drop of which I 

 supposed sufficient to have beaten the puny warriors to the earth. 



"In sleeping they frequently suspend themselves by the feet, with their heads 

 downwards, in the manner of some parrots. 



"These birds were great favorites of the ancient Mexicans. They used the feath- 



