LONG-TAILED HUMMING-BIRD. 125 



sipped at the syrup, though rather less than usual. 

 I had now high hopes of bringing them alive to 

 England, thinking the most difficult task was over ; 

 especially as within a day or two after, I added to 

 them two more males, one of which presently learn- 

 ed both to perch and to find the cup, and also a 

 female. The latter interested me much, for on the 

 next day after her introduction, I noticed that she 

 had seated herself by a long-tailed male, on a perch 

 occupied only by them two, and was evidently court- 

 ing his caresses. She would hop sideways along 

 the perch by a series of little quick jumps, till she 

 reached him, when she would gently peck his face, 

 and then recede, hopping and shivering her wings, 

 and presently approach again to perform the same 

 actions. Now and then she would fly over him, and 

 make as if she were about to perch on his back, and 

 practise other little endearments; to which, how- 

 ever, I am sorry to say, he seemed most ungallantly 

 indifferent, being, in fact, the dullest of the whole 

 group. I expected to have them nidificate in the 

 cage, and therefore affixed a very inviting twig of 

 lime-tree to the cage wall, and threw in plenty of 

 cotton, and perhaps should have succeeded, but for 

 the carelessness of my servant. For he having 

 incautiously left open the cage door, the female 

 flew out and effected her escape. 



But all my hopes of success were soon to be 

 quashed ; for after they had been in cage but a 

 week, they began to die, sometimes two in a day ; 

 and in another week, but a solitary individual was 

 left, which soon followed the others. I vainly en- 



