MCTUREV. ll 



thai Iliix is owini; to the barbs <r lateral plumes of 

 the !. nth. i> In ing of a flattened form, of a so 

 what horny .strurture, and so disposed as to form 

 on each feather very numerous rows of con- 

 cylindric mirror- UN it were, which very strongly 

 reflect the li;ht which falls upon them in different 

 directions. There is one more particular to be 

 noticed with respect to this curious genus, \\li;< h 

 i*. that if we may rely on the observations of a 

 French observer, who had frequent opportunities 

 of examining their manner of life in the West 

 Indies, some of the larger Humming-birds have 

 been known to swallow minute insects as well as 

 the juices of flowers ; fragments of such, accord- 

 ing to Monsieur Badier, having been sometimes 

 found in their stomachs. This however is con- 

 tradicted by others who have never been able to 

 perceive any remains of insects in the stomachs 

 of these birds, but merely the chrystallized sac- 

 charine matter or juice which had been extracted 

 from flowers. 



One would almost be tempted to suppose that 

 in those cases in which the remains of insects had 

 been found, some species of Certhia or Creeper had 

 been mistaken for a Humming-bird j the Certhia? 



