158 HUMMING-BIRDS. 



of the wings produces the humming sound from 

 which the bird derives its name. 



This little creature has a very long tongue, 

 curiously formed, so as to enable it to suck up 

 the nectar from the bells of flowers. This nectar 

 is its chief, if not its only food. It is seen to 

 pause for a few instants before a flower, with its 

 long tongue inserted into it. Then it darts like an 

 arrow to another, plunging its tongue into the bo- 

 som of every flower it visits, in search of its sweet 

 food. These birds are never seen on the ground : 

 they pass the night and the heat of the day 

 among the branches of the trees. They are not 

 birds of song : were they, it must be the music 

 of fairy-land. But though they cannot be said 

 to sing, they utter a short cry, as they fly from 

 one flowering plant to another : this cry is de- 

 scribed as resembling the syllables te-re, more or 

 less sharp and strong. 



It was long supposed impossible to bring the 

 humming-bird alive to this country ; but one in- 

 stance has occurred, as the following well-authen- 

 ticated anecdote, related by Dr. Latham, will 

 show. 



" A young man, a few days before he departed 

 from Jamaica, surprised a female humming-bird 

 while she was hatching. Having caught it, and 

 desiring to procure the nest without injuring it, 



