434 TRINIDAD. 



As to the humming-birds' nests, they are perfect miniatures ; 

 the frame-work is of dry grass-blades, bound together by spiders' 

 threads ; there is but little variation in their configuration the 

 minuteness of the fabric, and the perfection of the workmanship, 

 alone calling for deserved admiration. 



There is a bird the Sinallaxis Ruficapilla, only four inches 

 long, that constructs a nest which, if differently shaped, might 

 accommodate a lodger of twenty times its size. It is difficult to 

 conceive how so small a creature can carry the twigs which serve 

 in the construction, they being several lines in diameter; and 

 what is still more striking, these twigs hold together by mere 

 interweaving ; no bond unites them, and yet they are twisted into a 

 shape which reminds one of a gourd there being left a lateral and 

 upper opening, which is another marvel in this astonishing con- 

 struction. The sinallaxis begins by the framework, and the 

 framework alone constitutes the whole nest. What an amount of 

 instinct must the bird develop in order to attain its object, 

 particularly in laying down and fitting together the first pieces of 

 its edifice ! 



Many nests, instead of being laid on the bifurcation of branches, 

 are hung in a manner as light and as frail as the sword of 

 Damocles. Undoubtedly, this is a precaution taken with a view 

 to protecting the young against snakes, in the same manner as 

 the nests buried in bushes and the dense foliage of trees, escape 

 the eye of the birds of prey. I do not, however, understand how 

 birds can protect their nestlings against ants ; for, so large is the 

 number of these insects, in our climes, that it would seem as if 

 everything must become their prey. 



MIGRATION. 



All our birds do not make a permanent stay in the island ; and, 

 as regards certain species, there are two very distinct annual 

 migrations. When the wet season has fairly commenced, the 

 following alight on our shores ; sandpipers, knots, plovers, &c. ; 

 they are emigrants from South America. These birds swarm in 

 the extensive llanos, or plains, which skirt the Orinoco ; as soon 

 as these become inundated, their inhabitants are compelled to 

 depart elsewhere in search of food. Several species of ducks 

 follow the example of those Grallatoriae. After the rainy season 



