LECTURE V. 189 



in mini.' 1 ' \\i\\ diamr-tor 1> ing about 



an inch, ami it^ d< |>th about half an inch. The 

 bird la\s only t\\<> eggs, which an- white, round, 

 and of the -mall pease. It is a general 



rule of nature that the smallest birds lay the 



numb< ^s but in the- IJummin^- 



^r jAfe 



Bird this rule si d. 



The smallest of all the Humming-Birds is the 

 Trochilus Minimus of Linnaeus ; but it is not very 

 splendid in colour, being of a dull gilded green 

 above, with brown or purplish wings and tail, and 

 white beneath ; it measures only an inch and 

 quarter in total length, from the tip of the bill to 

 tiie end of the tail. It is a native of South- America, 

 but is said likewise to be sometimes found in the 

 i>land of Jamaica. 



One of the largest of all the Humming-birds is 

 the Trcchilm Pelkt or Topaz Hummingbird, the 

 body of which is of the size of a Wren, but as 

 the two middle tail-feathers greatly < the 



k and as the bill is also of consider- 

 able length, the total extent of the bird amounts 

 to more than ri^ht inches. The colour of the body 



1 ; of the back, wings, 

 and tail purple; tin- head black, and tin- throat 



