140 



THE RED-THROATED HUMMING-BIRD. 



HUMMING-BIRDS AND NEST- 



Fernandez Oviedo, an author of great repute, speaks, from his own 



knowledge, of the spirited conduct even 

 of these diminutive birds, in defence of 

 their young-ones: "When they observe 

 any one climbing a tree in which thev 

 have a nest, they attack him in the face, 

 attempting to strike him in the eyes ; and 

 coming, going, and returning, with almost 

 incredible swiftness." 



The Ilumming-Bird is seldom caught 

 alive ; a friend of M. du Pratz had, how- 

 ever, this pleasure. lie had observed 

 one of these birds enter the bell of a 

 convolvulas; and, as it had quite buried itself to get at the bottom, 

 he ran immediately to the place, closed the flower, cut it from the 

 stalk, and carried oft' the bird a prisoner. He could not, however, 

 prevail with it to eat; and it died in the course of three or four days. 

 Carlevoix informs us, that, in Canada, he had possession of one of 



these birds f<>r 

 about twenty- 

 four hours. It 

 suffered itself to 

 be handled ; and 

 even counter- 

 feited death that 

 it might escape 

 A slight frost in 

 the night des- 

 troyed it. 



" My friend 

 Captain Davis 

 informs me," 

 says Dr. Latham, 

 in his Synopsis 

 of Birds, "that 

 he kept these 

 birds alive for 

 four months by 

 the following 

 method : lie 

 made an exact 

 representation of 

 some of the 

 tubular flowers, 

 with paper ,fast 

 ened round a 

 tobacco-pipe, and 

 painted them of 



a proper color : these were placed in the order of nature, in the cage 

 in which the little creatures were confined: the bottoms of the tube** 



HUMMING-BIRD AT REST. 



