HUMMING-BIRD. 



797 



tliis country, from its being so plentiful in North 

 America; and for a considerable time it was the 

 humming-bird. It is still the one with whose man- 

 ners we are best acquainted. Its colours are, golden 

 green above, golden red on the throat, very fine 

 purple brown on the wings and tail, and white on | 

 the under part. It is a very beautiful species ; and j 

 its whole length, from the tip of the bill to the ex- { 

 tremity of the tail feathers, is not three inches and a 

 half. In the southern parts of America it is station- 

 ary for the whole year ; but it is a much more dis- I 

 cursive bird than most of its congeners, and ranges 

 seasonally over a considerable extent of latitude, 

 breeding as far to the northward as Canada in the j 

 summer season, but retiring not only from the extreme i 

 north, but, generally speaking, from the whole country j 

 northward of the Gulf of Mexico during the winter. | 

 It makes its appearance in the southern states of j 

 America about the time of the vernal equinox, but it. is 

 at least a month later in arriving in the middle states, 

 and it does not reach Canada till the summer has 

 commenced. In the middle states it begins to con- 

 struct its nest about a month after its arrival. The 

 best description which we have of its manners is, of 

 course, that given by Wilson, and therefore we shall 

 not attempt to substitute another in place of it. " The 

 nest is generally fixed on the upper side of a hori- 

 zontal branch, not among the twigs but on the body 

 of the branch itself. Yet I have known instances 

 where it was attached by the side to an old moss- 

 grown trunk ; and others, where it was fastened on a 

 strong rank stalk, or weed in the garden ; but these 

 cases were rare. In the woods it very often chooses 

 a white oak sapling to build on ; and in the orchard 

 garden selects a pear-tree for that purpose ; the 

 branch is seldom more than ten feet from the ground. 

 The nest is about an inch in diameter, and about as 

 much deep ; the outward coat is formed of small 

 pieces of a small species of bluish grey lichen, that 

 vegetates on old trees and fences, thickly glued over 

 with the saliva of the bird, giving firmness and con- 

 sistency to the whole, as well as keeping out moisture ; 

 within "this are thick matted layers of the fine wings 

 of certain flying seeds, closely laid together ; and, 

 lastly, the downy substance from the great mullein, 

 and from the stalks of the common fern, lines the 

 whole. The base of the nest is continued round the 

 stem of the branch, to which it closely adheres ; and 

 when from below appears a mere rnossy knot, or 

 accidental protuberance. The eggs are two, pure 

 white, and of equal thickness on both sides. On a 

 person approaching their nest, the little proprietors 

 dart around with a humming sound, passing frequently 

 within a few inches of one's head ; and, should the 

 young be newly hatched, the female will resume her 

 place on the nest even while you stand within a yard 

 or two of the spot. The precise period of incubation 

 I am unable to give ; but the young are in the habit, 

 a short time before they leave the nest, of thrusting 

 their bills into the mouths of their parents, and sucking 

 what they have brought them. I never could per- 

 ceive that they carried them any animal food, though 

 from circumstances, which will presently be men- 

 tioned, I think it highly probable that they do. As 

 I have found their nests with eggs so late as the 12th 

 of July, I do not doubt but that they frequently, and 

 perhaps usually, raise two brood in the same season. 



"The humming-bird is extremely fond of tubular 

 flowers, and I have often stopped, with pleasure, to 



observe his manoeuvres among the blossoms of the 

 trumpet-flower. When arrived before a thicket of 

 these that are full blown, he poises or suspends him- 

 self on wing for the space of two or three seconds, so 

 steadily, that his wings become invisible, or only like 

 a mist ; and you can plainly distinguish the pupil of 

 his eye looking round with great quickness and cir- 

 cumspection ; the glossy golden green of his back, 

 and the fire of his throat, dazzling in the sun, form 

 altogether a most interesting appearance. W r hen he 

 alights, which is frequently, he always prefers the 

 small dead twigs of a tree, or bush, where he dresses 

 and arranges his plumage with great dexterity. His 

 only note is a single chirp, not louder than a small 

 cricket or grasshopper, generally uttered while he 

 passes from flower to flower, or when engaged in 

 tights with his fellows ; for, when two males meet at 

 the same bush, or flower, a battle instantly takes place ; 

 and the combatants ascend in the air chirping, dart- 

 ing, and circling around each other, till the eye is no 

 longer able to follow them. The conqueror, however, 

 generally returns to reap the fruits of his victory. I 

 have seen him attack, and for a few minutes tease, the 

 king bird ; and have also seen him, in his turn, 

 assaulted by an humble-bee, which he soon put to 

 flight. He is one of those few birds that are univer- 

 sally beloved ; and amid the sweet dewy serenity of 

 a summer's morning, his appearance among the ar- 

 bours of honeysuckles, and beds of flowers, is truly 

 interesting. 



When morning: dawns, and the blest sun again 

 Lifts his red glories from the eastern main, 

 Then through our woodbines, wet with jittery dews, 

 The flower-ted humming-bird his round pursues ; 

 Sips, with inserted tube, the lioney'd blooin>, 

 And chirps his gratitude as round he roams ; 

 While richest roses, though in crimson drest, 

 Shrink from the splendour of his gorgeous breast. 

 What hcav'nly tints in mingling radiance fly ! 

 Each rapid movement gives a different dye ; 

 Like scales of bunnsh'd gold the dux/ling show, 

 Now sink to shade now like a furnace glow '. 



" The singularity of this little bird has induced many 

 persons to attempt to raise them from the nest, and 

 accustom them to the cage. Mr. Capper, of Fairfax 

 county, Virginia, a gentleman who has paid great 

 attention to the manners and peculiarities of our native 

 birds, told me that he raised anil kept two for some 

 months in a cage, supplying them with honey dis- 

 solved in water, on which they readily fed. As the 

 sweetness of the liquor frequently brought small flies 

 and gnats about the cage and cup, the birds amused 

 themselves by snapping at them on the wing, and 

 swallowing them with eagerness, so that these insects 

 formed no inconsiderable part of their food. Mr. 

 Charles Wilson Peale, proprietor of the museum, tells 

 me, that he had two young humming-birds, which he 

 raised from the nest. They used to fly about the 

 room ; and would frequently perch on Mrs. Peale's 

 shoulder to be fed. When the sun shone strongly 

 into the chamber he has observed them darting at the 

 motes that floated in the light, as fly-catchers would 

 after flies. In the summer of 1803, a nest of young 

 humming-birds was brought me, that were nearly fit 

 to fly. One of them actually flew out by the window 

 the same evening, and, falling against a wall, was 

 killed. The other refused food, and the next morn- 

 ing I could but just perceive that it had life. A lady 

 in the house undertook to be its nurse, placed it in 

 her bosom, and, as it began to revive, dissolved a little 

 sugar in her mouth, into which she thrust its bill, aud 



