'the SA WEILL HUM-MING BIRD. 141 



As is the case with the generality of humming birds' nests, 

 cobwebs are employed for the purpose of fastening the structure 

 to the object to which it hangs. The materials of which the 

 nest is made, are chiefly moss, down, and feathers, the feathers 

 being profusely stuck on the outside. 



There is a very remarkable nest made by one of these birds, 

 called the Sawbill Humming Bird {Grypus nceinus), because 

 the slender bill is notched in a saw-like fashion on the edges of 

 both mandibles. These serrations do not reach along the whole 

 bill but only to a short distance from the tip. 



The nest of the Sawbill is made of fine vegetable fibres, 

 woven together so as to look like an open network purse, the 

 outer walls being so loosely made as to permit the eggs and 

 lining to be visible. Leaves, mosses and lichens are also woven 

 into the nest, and are packed rather tightly under the eggs. 

 The edge, however, is always left loose. The nest is suspended 

 at the end of some leaf, usually that of the palm. 



Mr. Gould mentions that the bird is found in the depths of 

 virgin forests, and is most plentiful about thirty miles from 

 Nova Fribergo, in the months of July, August, September, and 

 part of October. It is generally seen darting round the 

 orchidaceous plants which flower so richly in that fertile 

 climate, and is a rather noisy bird, uttering loud and piercing 

 cries, and making a great whirring sound with its wings as it 

 dashes through the air. It is very strong and energetic on the 

 wing, and is seldom seen to alight. That the Sawbill feeds on 

 insects has been satisfactorily proved, by the presence of small 

 beetles in the throat of newly killed birds ; and to judge by 

 its actions, the hovering flight and frequent stoop Hke that 

 of the falcon, the bird feeds also on flies and other winged in- 

 sects. 



Although it is necessarily impossible to describe or even 

 enumerate one tithe of the interesting nests made by humming 

 birds, I must cursorily mention one or two more of the most 

 curious examples. One of these birds is the Brazilian Wood 



