256 NESTS OF HUMMING-BIRDS. 



are entirely those of an insect, and any one who has watched the flight of a large beetle or 

 bee will have a very good idea of these tropic gems painted against the sky." 



The Vervain Humming-bird appears to be less susceptible of human influence than 

 the Ruby-throated and the Long-tailed Humming-birds, for although Mr. Gosse succeeded 

 in capturing several specimens of these beautiful little 2reatures, and confined them in a 

 room, they were so hopelessly timid that nothing could be done with them. More than 

 once he secured the female as she was sitting upon her eggs, and removed her, together 

 with her nest, into a gauze-covered cage, hoping that she would continue her labours while 

 in captivity, and produce a brood of young that would be familiar with mankind from 

 their earliest birth. Maternal love, however, was not proof against the power of fear, and 

 in every case the poor little bird forsook her eggs, fluttered about the cage aimlessly, and 

 died within twenty-four hours. 



The general colour of this beautiful little bird is a brilliant metallic green, the wings 

 being, as usual, purple-brown, and the tail deep black. The throat and chin are white, 

 sprinkled profusely with little black spots, and the breast is pure white. The abdomen is 

 also white, but diversified with a slight green tip to each feather, and the flanks are bright 

 metallic green nearly as resplendent as upon the back. The under tail-coverts are white, 

 with a few very pale green spots. The colours of the female are rather more dull than 

 those of her mate, the green being tinged with yellow, and the under parts without the 

 green spots. The first half of the tail is yellowish-green, and all the feathers of the tail, 

 with the exception of the two central feathers, are furnished with white tips. 



The nest of the Vervain Humming-bird is very small, in accordance with the dimen- 

 sions of the architect, is round and cup-like in shape, and beautifully constructed of cotton 

 fibres and other soft and warm substances. As is the case with the nests of almost all 

 the species of Trochilidte, the rim is so made as to curve slightly inwards, and is, in all 

 probability, constructed for the purpose of preventing the eggs from rolling out of the 

 nest when the "procreant cradle" is rocked by the tempestuous winds of the tropics. A 

 somewhat similar structure may be seen in the nests of many of our British birds, 

 and I well remember seeing the nest of a goldfinch which had been built at the extremity 

 of a long and slender horizontal spray of oak, and which was completely turned inwards 

 at the rim. No ordinary wind could have shaken the eggs out of the nest, as even 

 when the branch was seized and drawn towards the ground, the eggs still remained in 

 their places. 



In one species, which was watched by Captain Lyon, R.N., the nest was not completed 

 until the young birds were nearly fledged. 



The mother bird built a small and rather shallow nest, in which she laid two eggs, and 

 began to sit as usual. As soon, however, as the young were hatched, she set to work again 

 at her nest, and added fresh material round the edges, so as to raise the sides and prevent 

 her offspring from tumbling out of their house upon the ground. In proportion to the 

 growth of the young, the mother increased the height of her walls, so that by the time the 

 young were ready to fly, the nest had been transformed from a shallow, saucer-like struc- 

 ture, into a round and deeply-hollowed cup. It has been suggested in explanation of this 

 curious behaviour on the part of the mother bird, that her completed nest had been 

 destroyed, and that she was forced to run up a hasty kind of hut for the reception of her 

 young, and could only finish it when she was relieved from the constant duty of sitting on 

 JIG i* G^^S. 



IN the nesting of the Humming-birds, there is one peculiarity that is worthy of a 

 passing notice. In almost every case where a nest has hitherto been discovered, the 

 materials of which it is composed are thick, soft and woollen, and in all instances are 

 arranged in such a manner as to shield the eggs even from the effects of rain or 

 atmospheric influences, as long as the mother bird is seated upon them. Mr. R. Hill, 

 who has paid close attention to the nests of the Humming-birds, has ingeniously hit 

 upon a connexion between their structure and the electrical conditions of the atmosphere. 



The injurious effect of a sudden increase of electricity is very strongly marked upon 

 the young of all animals, the hurtful influence being in proportion to the growth of the 



