H UMMING- BIRDS — OIL -BIRD 



39 1 



forks of branches, and interlaced with soft plant-wool and covered with lichen and 

 moss, although in some cases consisting of lichen and moss alone. In spite of their 

 diminutive size, humming-birds are very bold and quarrelsome, fighting with their 

 fellows, and also defending themselves against large birds, although they are really 

 safe from attack owing to their rapid flight. Certain species are restricted to 

 particular areas, according to the presence of their respective food-plants. Although 



<r- 



most are indigenous to the 

 American tropical area, some 

 visit the temperate zones, and 

 in summer range as far north 

 and south as Labrador and 

 Tierra del Fuego. Some even 

 ascend to the snow-line in 

 the mountains, and others are 

 restricted to certain mountain- 

 peaks. They are divided into 

 various groups, the two prin- 

 cipal divisions being those 

 with straight beaks, and those 

 with arched beaks. Among 

 the latter is the ribbon-tailed 

 humming-bird (JZthurus 

 polytmus) of Jamaica, dis- 

 tinguished by its very long, 

 ribbon-like tail-feathers. To 

 mention other kinds is impos- 

 sible here. 



One of the 

 Oil-bird. 



most remarkable 



types is the oil-bird, or gua- 



charo (Steatornis caripensis), 



which represents a family by 



itself. This bird has rather 



short legs in comparison to its 



long body, and is therefore 



unable to run, and can only 



push itself forward along the 



ground by the aid of its wings. 



It finds shelter and nesting- 



places in the deep rocky clefts of the mountains of Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, 



and Trinidad, where it lives in large numbers, and lays its white eggs in cracks 



and crevices, without apparently constructing a real nest. In habits it is entirely 



nocturnal, and it feeds solely on fruit. Sleeping in their hiding-places during 



the day, these birds fly abroad with loud cries as night comes on, and in their 



thousands, especially on moonlight nights, make so loud a tumult in the mountain 



valleys as to drown the voices of all the other animals. 



GUA( HARO. 



