CiiAV. V. HUMMING-BIRDS. 183 



Mr. Gould relates that he once had a stormy altercation 

 with an English gentleman, who affirmed that humming- 

 birds were found in England, for he had seen one flying 

 in Devonshire, meaning thereby the moth Macroglossa 

 stellatarum. The analogy between the two creatures 

 has been brought about, probably, by the similarity of 

 their habits, there being no indication of the one having 

 been adapted in outward appearance with reference to 

 the other. 



It has been observed that humming-birds are unlike 

 other birds in their mental qualities, resembling in this 

 respect insects rather than wai-m-blooded vertebrate 

 animals. The want of expression in their eyes, the 

 small degree of versatility in their actions, the quickness 

 and precision of their movements, are all so many points 

 of resemblance between them and insects. In walking 

 along the alleys of the forest a Phaethornis frequently 

 crosses one's path, often stopping suddenly and re- 

 maining poised in mid-air, a few feet distant from 

 the face of the intruder. The Phaethorninge are cer- 

 tainly more numerous in individuals in the Amazons 

 region than the Trochihnse. They build their nests, 

 which are made of fine vegetable fibres and lichens, 

 densely woven together and thickly lined with silk- 

 cotton from the fruit of the samalima tree (Eriodendron 

 samallma), on the inner sides of the tips of palm fronds. 

 They are long and purse-shaped. The young when first 

 hatched have very much shorter bills than their 

 parents. The only species of Trochilinse which I 

 found at Caripi were the little brassy-green Polytmus 

 viridissimus, the Sapphire and emerald (Thalurania 



