HUMMING-BIRD. 79 



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 that 

 of a small cricket or grasshopper, generally uttered while pass- 

 ing from flower to flower, or when engaged in fight 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, darting and circling around each other, till the 

 eye is no longer able to follow them. The conqueror, however, 

 generally returns to the place, to reap the fruits of his victory. 

 I have seen him attack, and for a few moments tease the King- 

 bird; and have also seen him, in his turn, assaulted by a humble- 

 bee, which he soon put to flight. He is one of those few birds 

 that are universally beloved; and amidst the sweet dewy serenity 

 of a summer's morning, his appearance among the arbours of 

 honeysuckles, and beds of flowers, is truly interesting. 



When morning 1 dawns, and the blest sun, again 

 Lifts his red glories from the Eastern main, 

 Then through our woodbines, wet with glittering 1 dews, 

 The flower-fed Humming-bird his round pursues; 

 Sips with inserted tube, the honeyed blooms, 

 And chirps his gratitude as round he roams; 

 While richest roses, though in crimson drest, 

 Shrink from the splendour of his gorgeous breast; 

 What heav'nly tints in mingling radiance fly! 

 Each rapid movement gives a different dye; 

 Like scales of burnish'd gold they dazzling 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. Coffer, 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 and kept two, for some 

 months, in a cage; supplying them with honey dissolved in 

 water, on which they readily fed. As the sweetness of the 

 liquid frequently brought small flies and gnats about the cage, 



