GRAY-THROATED HERMIT. 251 



abundant. They are all remarkable for two peculiarities, the 

 first being the form of the tail, which is regularly graduated, the 

 two central feathers being the longest, and the others diminish- 

 ing on either side. The second peculiarity is, that the two sexes 

 are nearly alike in their coloring, contrary to the usual custom 

 among humming-birds, the male of which is generally brilliantly 

 clad, and the female quite plain and sombre. All those Hermits 

 whose habitation is known build a curiously-formed nest, funnel- 

 shaped, and attached to the end of some drooping leaf. 



The example which has been chosen for illustration affords a 

 good idea of the form which is generally followed, and, as may be 

 at once seen, closely resembles that of the fan-tailed warbler, which 

 has already been described. 



The nest which is here figured was attached to the very ex- 

 tremity of the leaf, so that the long tail hung down freely. The 

 materials of which it was composed were the silky fibres of plants, 

 the cotton-like down of seed-vessels, and some other substance, 

 which is supposed to be fungus, and is of a woolly texture. All 

 these materials were interwoven with spider's-web, by means of 

 which the nest was attached to the leaf at the end of which it 

 swings. The bird almost invariably chooses some dicotyledon- 

 ous leaf for its pendent home. 



Other nests made by birds of the same genus are worthy of a 

 passing mention. 



First, there is the pretty nest of the Gray-throated Hermit 

 (Phaethornis griseogulmis), a very tiny bird, of comparatively 

 sober plumage, reddish-brown being the predominant hue. This 

 species is found in Ecuador, and is seen at an elevation of six 

 thousand feet above the level of the sea. Indeed, the depth of 

 cold which these fragile little beings can endure is really surpris- 

 ing, many species being found only on the highest mountains, 

 and one bird, the Chimborazian Hill Star, inhabiting a zone that 

 is never less than twelve thousand feet, and seldom more than 

 sixteen thousand, above the level of the sea. Immediately above 

 the last-mentioned elevation the line of perpetual snow begins, 

 and, though the bird can exist just below it, the absence of vege- 

 tation prevents it overpassing that line. 



The nest of the Gray-throated Hermit is made of moss fibres 

 and the same silken threads that have already been mentioned, 

 and is fastened to a leaf. It does not, however, hang from the 

 extremity, but is fastened against the side of the leaf, and its tail, 



