187f).] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



23 



flower, witli tlu'ir loiis, sleiulcr bills tlinist, into 

 its bosom, ('xtractiiif; tlm ucctiir and iniiiiiti' 

 insects to be. I'ouncl tlu-ri'. Tlio nanii' is apt 

 ami wvW (U'scrvrd, dilTcrin^' in tliis particnlar 

 from mncli of the t'ar-t'ctolK'd nomi'iiclatin'e ol' 

 our modern ornitlioloi;ists. The family is, in 

 many respi^ets, nni(iue, is easily reeo);ni/.able, 

 and cannot, even by an amatenr natnralist, be 

 liiistalven or eonfonnded with any other; it is 

 sharply distinjjnished from all others no less in 

 general appoarauce than by its technical pecii- 

 liaritii's. 



No otlier s;rou]i of birds ajiproaclies the Tro- 

 cliilida! nnmerieally in (loinl of species, lint 

 few were known to Limuens; onrown Wilson 

 was aciiuainted with but a single North Amer- 

 ican species; Audnlion knew scleral more; 

 ]5aird, in 1S5S, enumerated seven, while Cones, 

 in his "Key," (b'^T'J), describes eleven. New 

 species are discovered yearly. Here, in Penn- 

 sylvania, we liave but one variety, tlie l{\iby 

 Throat (T. Coluhri.f). Alxiut three linndred 

 and twenty-live well reeofjjiizcd ones are now 

 known. In the mafjiiilieent collection of Mr. 

 (ionld, whose splendid moiio^rai>li on this 

 numerous and brilliant family is much the 

 completest ever published, more than threes 

 hundred species are reprcsenteil. Xo other 

 cabini't in the world, either pul>lic or private, 

 approaches it in completeness. Wlu^n westate 

 that the total ntnuber of the birds of Km-oiie, 

 of every order and uronji, is only live hundred 

 and three, of which about one hundred are 

 also eonmion to this country, some idea of the 

 diversity of the Ilummin;^ bird family may be 

 formed, and it is not improbable that future 

 discoveries may prove this diminutive {jroup 

 equal in number to the combined bird fauna 

 of Europe. 



There is an unusually wide variation in the 

 size of the several .si)ecies. This, however, was 

 to be expected from their number. The lart;- 

 est of the family, (T. Oiyus,] is nearly eiglit 

 inches loug, while the smallest, (T. Minimus,) 

 measures only an inch and a (juarter and 

 weighs twenty grains, and when dciijiided of 

 its feathers is less in size tlian some of oiu' 

 luunlile l)ees. Various others are two anil 

 two and a half inches in extent, while the 

 general average is from three to five inches. 

 The feet are very small, and the tarsi short, 

 so they offer but little impediment to the bird, 

 which si)ends so great a portion of its exist- 

 ence on the wing; the claws are long and ex- 

 ceedingly sharp, and are used l.)y sonic species 

 to suspend themselves daring sleep, after the 

 manner of various parrots. In the size and 

 conformation of their bills, Ilunnning birds 

 l)reseut most surprising variations. In general, 

 they are long, slender, and of eipial thickness 

 throughout; some are comparatively short, 

 others long and straight; .some have a down- 

 ward curve, and some arc recurved like the 

 bill of the avoset, being the only' examples 

 known among land birds with such a shaped 

 bill. These numerous modilications seem spe- 

 cially adapted to i>robe and search tlowers of 

 every shaiie, and what renders this inference a 

 positive certainty is, that certain groups alfect 

 those kinds of tlowers with tubuLir entrances 

 most in conformity with the shape of their 

 bills. In .some cases the bill is so enormously 

 developed as to exceed in length the entire 

 body of the bird. 



The tongue of the Humming bird, like that 

 of Woodpeckers, and other insectiverous 

 birds, is retractile, an<l capable of being pro- 

 tuded a considerable distance beyond tlie l)ill. 

 It is composed of two muscular tubes united 

 the greater part of their length, and termina- 

 ting in two sharp i)oints, wliicli are slightly 

 widened near the tips and lind)riated ; the 

 tubes are of very singular structure; each con- 

 sists of a lamina rolled together, but not so 

 closely as to bring the edges into contact; a 

 slit runs along the outer side to some distani'c 

 beyond the junction of the tubes; a pin in- 

 serted into this (issure is easily moved along 

 its length. This tubular bilid tongue is sup- 

 posed to act like a pump, and honey is drawn 

 from tlowers through it by sonu; kind of suc- 

 tion. The tongue tips are covere<l with a 

 glutinous secretion, and admirably ailaptcd to 



abstract minute insects from the flowers they 

 frecpient, and through their retnictability, the 

 living prey is at once tran.sferred to the a'jso- 

 phagns. 



All birds, whether large or small, subserve 

 .some wise purpose in the economy of natme. 

 To what a great extent is the human family 

 indebted to them for food V Ihit while many 

 do not directly contribute to human sustenance, 

 they yet aid inm in keeping within wi.sely or- 

 dained limits the exci^ssin animal and vegeta- 

 ble life. The services of the Ilununers in this 

 work are not so much noticed in our northern 

 clime, wlittre they are comparativi'ly few, as 

 in those tropical regions where insect life is .so 

 abnu<lanl. and where these winged jewels of 

 the air cnulribute so largely in keeping the 

 almost microscopic, as wi'll as larger ins(!cts 

 honles within reasonablt! bounds. 



There has, from time; to time, been nnicli 

 discussion among naturalists as to the food of 

 these birds. From tht^ir constantly observeil 

 habit of hovering about tlowers and probing 

 their inmost recesses with their slendi'r bills, 

 it was once believed hoiuiy was their only food; 

 but when later ouithologists proved by dissec- 

 tion that their stomachs were IIIUmI with count- 

 less minute insects, then the nectar tlieory was 

 well nigh abandoned, and theoppositeextreme 

 reached. Later and more can'ful investig.a- 

 tious have proved both theories to be incor- 

 rect; the truth lies midway between the two. 

 While the honey that' is contained in most 

 tlowers. and espeeiall^yin those most frc(jueuted 

 by llununiug birds, is an important object in 

 their search, the myriadsof insects, sometimes 

 so small as to escape the eye, are equally so; 

 insects, too, are partial to sweets, and are, in 

 conse(pience, drawn to flowers where tliey 

 may be obtained; here our diminutive friends 

 seek them, and in satisfying their own wants, 

 relieve tlu^ plants from the noxious hordes that 

 infest them. 



The forests of the AVest India islands and 

 tropical South America, are covered with an 

 endless variety of (larasitic and other plants 

 that are the chosen homes of uncoinited mnn- 

 bers of the insect world ; IreO-ferns, the wild 

 plantain, begonias, bromelias, uumlierle.ss or- 

 chidiea and many other i)hanerogamous forms 

 of vegetalile life are to be seen in endless pro- 

 fusion ; amid the nectared calyx of their bell 

 and trunq)ed shaped tlowers, swanns of the 

 more minute l)ii)tera and Lepido|)tera sip 

 honey and find a grateful shade, and these 

 afford the Humming birds their most delicious 

 repast. It has been aptly said the home of 

 these birds is also the home of the insects. 

 But they do not always take insects in that 

 way; every careful observer must often have 

 had his attention drawn toourowMi splendidly 

 adorned visitor on warm sunnner mornings, as 

 he darted like a sunbeam atabuni-h of minute 

 flies in mid air, and, while seemiui;ly motion- 

 less, regaled himself t<i his heart's content, 

 and then took his departure as hurriedly as he 

 came. 



Darwin, in his "Voyage of a Naturalist," 

 (and, by tlie way, much the best book he ever 

 wrote) speaks of meeting a well-known species 

 on Chiloc island ; he Siiys "at the time of the 

 year I refer to, there were few flowers, hence 

 I was quite sure they did not live on honey; 

 and on opeiiing the stomach and upper intes- 

 tine, I could, with the aid of a lens, plainly 

 distinguish In a yellow fluid, morsels of the 

 wings of the diptera. It is evi<lent thesi^ birds 

 search for minute insects in their winter 

 quarters under the thick foliage. I opened 

 the stomachs of several specimens which were 

 shot in dilTerent parts of the contini'iit, and in 

 all, remains of insects were so numerous as 

 often to present a black comminuted mass as 

 in the stomacli of a creeiier." An eminent 

 Engli.sh ornithologist has .said that a Ilnmining 

 bird will eat its own weight of insects daily. 



We have as yet said nothing conci'rningone 

 of the most distinguishing features of this re- 

 markalile family of birds— the gorgeously col- 

 ored jilumage with which they are clothed. 

 All the other feathered trilies niu.st i)ale their 

 ineffectual fires in the presence of these re- 

 splendent serial gems. The gaudy plumage of 



the lories and macaws yiehls to the brilliant 

 slu'i'U ofthe.se veritable things of beauty. A» 

 they are the smallest, so are they also the miKSt 

 beautiful of all the feathered denizens of the 

 earth. The colors of the emerald, the ruby, 

 the .sapphire, the topaz and the amethyst are 

 all reflected from the variegated splendor of 

 their dre.s.s. The changeableue.ss in the hues 

 of the hnnnning binls is very remarkable ; this 

 is suppo.sed to be "due to the |H'Culiur organi- 

 zation of the feathei-s and the manner in which 

 the luminous raysare reflected on falling upon 

 thi^m; each feather when minutely inspected, 

 shows myriads of facets .so disposed as to pre- 

 sent many angles to the ineiclence of light, 

 which will be divi'i"sely reflected according to 

 the position of the leather; thus emerald may 

 change to a velvety black, crimson to blue, a 

 vivid fire color to a rich green, and so on 

 through innumerable ever-clmngiug shades and 

 colors." 



It has been mooted whether Ihe-se bright 

 colors are permanent or peculiar to the season 

 of coiulshi|i only. Cabinets containing hun- 

 dreds of specimen.s, and nearly all of rich and 

 vivid hues, ))rove the former, although we 

 may reiusonably conclu<le the colors are inten- 

 sifieil during the nuptial seiuson. Such is the 

 case with many other birds whose wondrous 

 changes in dri'ss before and after thi' amatory 

 period are well known. Where, however, a 

 grou)) of birds breed through the entire year, 

 as Hummingbirds do in (iniana and Brazil, 

 we may always expect to find them in their 

 resiilenilent iiarb, and individuals are rarely 

 met in what miglit be considered an undress 

 suit. 



During the period of nidification, temporary 

 adormnents in the shape of crests, tnftu, ruBH 

 and gorgets are ln'Stowed on many species of 

 these already gaudy birds; language fails 

 utterly to describe the almost ideal beauty of 

 tlie.se nuptial decorations; nothing in the en- 

 tire range of animated nature can vie with 

 them in brilliancy. Nor does a cabinet collec- 

 tion of sjieciniens convey an adeiiuate idea of 

 their i)risniatic radiance while alive; when 

 dead they lose nuich of the metallic lustre 

 that belongs to the living birds. And what, 

 it may lie asked, is the design and purin)se of 

 all this tenqiorary splendor? Science stands 

 nnite and humble when confronted with this 

 ([uestion. Doubtless it is conferred for .some 

 wise purpose, but of its true intent we aro 

 hopelessly ignorant, just ius we are of many 

 other peculiarities found among the feathered 

 creation. 



The wings are so much curved in their ex- 

 terior outline as to be almost s;ihre or sickle- 

 .shaped in .some varieties, and generally exceed 

 the tail in Uaigth. The outer primary <piill is 

 invariably the longest ; the shafts are remark- 

 ably strong and elastic, and freciueiitly show 

 an extraordinary delvelopment at their base. 

 The lamina- of the quills are narrow, but .so 

 compact that when in use they present a sur- 

 face to the air so clo.se and rigid as to produce 

 the humming sound by which they are ktiown, 

 and affording in this particular a striking con- 

 trast to nocturnal birds, such iis owls, the 

 webs of who.se feathers are so soft and loo.se us 

 to create no distinuui.shable sound as they 

 swoop upon their unspeeting prey. 



As might be suppose<l from their dexterity 

 on the wing and great ikiwci-s of flight, the 

 tails a.s well as the wings are well develoiied 

 and powerful ; lln'V show a wonderful diver- 

 sity in shajie, size and otlun- iiarticidai-s ; in 

 many species thy are considerably longer than 

 the body and highlv ornaiueulcd ; in another 

 it is composed of only six feathers, a reinarkii- 

 ble anomaly in the history of the bird family, 

 no other being known with so small a numlier 

 nor is this an accidi-ntal variation — it is found 

 to be constant, (iencrally s|M'akini,', the male 

 .and female differ widely in their plumage and 

 are sometimes mistaken f(U- different s|H'<;ie8 ; 

 in other cases the sexes are clothed so nearly 

 alike, that dissc'ction alone can determine the 

 difference between them. 



The nest.sof Humming birds are lieautiful 

 exam|ilesof bird architecture; they varyalmost 

 as widely iuj the plumage of the birds them- 



