158 A HISTORY OF 



this alone they subsist. The rapid motion of their wings brings out 

 a humming sound, from whence they have their names ; for what- 

 ever divides the air swiftly, must thus produce a murmur. 



The nests of these birds are not less curious than the rest : they 

 are suspended in the air, at the point of the twigs of an orange, a 

 pomegranate, or a citron-tree : sometimes even in houses, if they 

 find a small and convenient twig for the purpose. The female is the 

 architect, while the male goes in quest of materials, such as cotton, 

 fine moss, and the fibres of vegetables. Of these materials a nest is 

 composed of about the size of a hen's egg cut in two, admirably con- 

 trived, and warmly lined with cotton. They lay two eggs at a time, 

 and never more, about the size of small peas, and as white as snow, 

 with here and there a yellow speck. The male and the female sit 

 upon the nest by turns ; but the female takes to herself the greatest 

 share. She seldom quits the nest, except a few minutes in the morn- 

 ing and evening, when the dew is upon the flowers, and their honey 

 in perfection. During this short interval, the male takes her place ; 

 for, as the egg is so small, the exposing it ever so short a time to the 

 weather, would be apt to injure its contents, the surface exposed be- 

 ing so great in comparison to the bulk. The time of incubation con 

 tinues twelve days, at the end of which the young ones appear, much 

 about the size of a blue-bottle fly. They are at first bare ; by degrees 

 they are covered with down, and at last feathers succeed, but less 

 beautiful at first than those of the old ones: 



" Father Labat's companion in the mission to America, found the 

 nest of a humming-bird, in a shed that was near the dwelling-house, 

 and took it in at a time when the young ones were about fifteen or 

 twenty days old ; he then placed them in a cage at his chamber-win 

 dow, to be amused by their sportive flutterings ; but he was soon sur- 

 prised to see the old ones, that came and fed their brood regularly 

 every hour in the day. By these means they themselves soon grew so 

 tame that they seldom quitted the chamber ; but, without any con- 

 straint, came to live with their young ones. All four have frequently 

 come to perch upon their master's hand, chirruping as if they had 

 been at liberty abroad. He fed them with a very fine clear paste 

 made of wine, biscuit, and sugar : they thrust their tongues into this 

 pa?te till they were satisfied, and then fluttered and chirruped about 

 the room. I never beheld any thing more agreeable," continues he, 

 " than this lovely little family that had taken possession of my com- 

 panion's chamber, and that flew out and in just as they thought pro 

 per, but were ever attentive to the voice of their master, when he 

 called them. In this manner they lived with him for above six months, 

 but at a time when he expected to see a new colony formed, he un- 

 fortunately forgot to tie up their cage to the ceiling at night, to pre* 

 serve them from the rats, and he found they were devoured in the 

 inorning." 



These birds, on the continent of America, continue to flutter the 

 vear round, as their food, which is the honey of flowers, never for- 

 sakes them in those v/arm latitudes where they are found. But it is 

 otherwise in the islands of the Antilles, where, when the winter sea- 

 son approaches, they retire, and, as some say, continue in a torpid 

 ftate during the severity of that season At Surinam and Jamaica 



