352 STRANGE DWELLINGS. 



the nest, by supposing it to be made of German tinder, which 

 is, in fact, a kind of boletus which has been pressed, dried, 

 and steeped in a weak solution of nitre. 



The lower figure in the same illustration represents the nest 

 of another Humming Bird {Phaethornis eurynome)^ belonging to 

 the pretty little group which are popularly called Hermits, and 

 which may be recognised by the peculiar shape of the tail, 

 which is regularly graduated, the two central feathers being, 

 however, much longer than the others. They are inhabitants 

 of Venezuela. 



All the Hermits are remarkable for the beauty of their 

 homes, and the present species is mentioned as affording a 

 good example of nest-making. The nest is always long and 

 funnel-shaped, and is hung either to a leaf or the delicate twig 

 of a tree, according to circumstances. The materials of which 

 the nest is made are rather various, consisting of vegetable 

 fibres, especially those downy, cotton-hke filaments which are 

 furnished by so many plants, of small herbs, and spider webs. 

 The last-mentioned substance is employed for the purpose of 

 binding the materials together, and is used also in fastening the 

 nest to the support on which it hangs. 



There is another species of this beautiful group, called the 

 Ruby-throated Humming Bird {Trochilus colubris), which is 

 generally accepted as the typical species. This lovely bird is 

 plentiful in many parts of America, and is sometimes seen 

 as far North as Canada. It derives its popular name from the 

 feathers of the throat, which glitter as if made of burnished 

 metal, and glow with alternate tints of ruby and orange. 

 The general colour of the body is green, and the wings are 

 purple-brown. The two sexes are coloured after the same 

 manner, with the exception of the ruby gorget, which only 

 belongs to the male, and which is not attained until the second 

 year. There is no species more common in museums and 

 ornamental cases than this, because it is as plentiful as it is 

 lovely. That it should be plentiful, or indeed that any species 

 of Humming Bird should be anything but scarce, is matter of 



