NECTAnnJin.E- 



-BIRDS.- 



-Trociiilid.e. 



307 



is higher than tlie forohcail ; the lower maiuhhlc is not 

 more than lialf as long as the upper one, into the lower 

 saiface of which it fits. Tliis curious bird 1ms the 

 upper surface of the body olive-coloured; the forehead 

 and cheeks, the throat and breast, are bright yellow, 

 as are also the eyebrows. The female is more sober 

 in her colours, and h.is no yellow except on the eye- 

 brows. The lenyth of the bird is about si.x inches. 



THE BLUE GUIT-GUIT [Cwrebn cyavea). Besides 

 the preceding and numerous allied species inhabiting 

 the Old World, a few birds belonging to this family are 

 found in the tropical parts of America. The Blue 

 Guit-gnit is one of these. It has a nearly straight, 

 acute bill, of moderate length, and a short square tail. 

 The general colour of its plumage is a fine, lustrous, 

 indigo blue, the forehead is brilliant ultramarine blue, 

 and a violet-black band passes over the eyes. It mea- 

 tjures about five inches in length. This beautiful little 

 bird is abundant in Brazil and Guiana, especially in 

 the latter country, whence numerous specimens are 

 brought to Europe, where they are often regarded as 

 Humming-birds. In its habits this bird closely resem- 

 bles the rest of the NectariniiJce ; it ho\'ers about the 

 fl jwers in search of their sweet juices and of the insects 

 which conceal themselves among the petals, and also 

 captures insects upon the branches of trees and shrubs. 

 The nest is suspended at the extremity of a slender 

 twig; it is constructed very arlifioially with straws and 

 other coarse materials extorjially, and lined with soft 

 matters, woven into the form of a chemist's retort with 

 a neck about a foot long, through which the little 

 architects obtain access to the true nest situated in the 

 belly of the retort. Here the eggs are laid, and thus 

 the brood and their parents are sheltered from their 

 enemies. 



THE CAYENNE DARNIS {Darin's cayana), another 

 F]ieciea abundant in Guiana, is rather more than foiu' 

 inches in length, and of a glossy green colour, streaked 

 with white on the lower surface. It resides in the 

 forests, and usuallj' keeps in the upper parts of high 

 trees, preferring those which are in flower. Here it 

 creeps about in every direction upon the branches and 

 twigs in search of spiders and insects, which appear to 

 constitute at least the greater part of its nourishment. 

 'J'he nest is built at the top of lofty trees. 



THE BLACK AND YELLOW CERTHIOLE [Caihiola 

 fl:iveola) is an inhabitant of tropical South America 

 and the West Indian islands, where it appears to be 

 abundant. Its general colour is ashy-grey, but the 

 head is blackish, with a white streak over each eye, 

 miited behind the head. The anterior part of the wings 

 is margined with bright yellow, and the rump, breast, 

 and abdomen are yellow, becoming greyish towards the 

 vent. The length of the bird is about four inches and 

 a half. The Certhiole is tailed the Sucrier in Cayenne, 

 from its frequenting the sugar-canes for the sake of 

 their sweet viscous juice ; it also haimts flowers, partly 

 in search of their nectar, but partly for the insects con- 

 tained in them. It is said to have a sliort but agree- 

 able song. During the greater part of the year it is a 

 very solitary bird, and even during the breeding season 

 usually endeavours to keej) all its fellows from tlie place 

 which it has selected for its dwelling. Its nest is sus- 



pended at the extremity of the most flexihle twigs, and 

 it usually selects those foi' this purpose which hang over 

 the middle of a brook. The nest, which is exclusively 

 the work of the female, is constructed of moss, diy 

 vegetable fibres, and the cotton and down of plants. 

 These materials are so closely interwoven, and so 

 strongly attached to the supporting twig, that the 

 whole must be broken to pieces if it be desired to 

 remove it without cutting the twigs. The entrance is 

 from below, and the nest is divided vertically by a 

 partition into two chambers, one of which serves as a 

 sort of staircase to enable the bird to ascend to the to]i 

 of the nest, whence it then descends into the second 

 chamber, which has no direct commiuiication with the 

 exterior. In this chamber tlie female lays her eggs 

 and performs the business of incubation, sheltered 

 from all her enemies; security is still further provided 

 for by the male keeping watch in the outer chamber 

 of tliis ingeniously- constructed dwelling. With this 

 interesting species we may close our notice of the 

 present family, and pass to that of the Humming birds. 



F.\MILY III.-TROCHILID.E. 



The birds forming this family, which are undoubtedly 

 the gems of our ornilhological treasuries, are peculiar 

 to the New World, in the tropical parts of which they 

 abound, adorning the gardens, fields, and woods, and 

 even the mountain sides to a considerable height, with 

 their swiftly glancing fairy hke forms, and brilliant 

 sparkling colours. These charming little birds, the 

 smallest, as a group, of all the feathered tribes, aie 

 furnished w'ith a long and more or less acute bill, 

 which is sometimes straight and sometimes curved, and 

 has tlie lateral margins of its upper mandible dilated 

 beyond the edges of the lower one. The nostrils aie 

 situated at the base of the upper mandible, and con- 

 cealed beneath a large scale, which is sometimes covered 

 with feathers. The wings are long and pointed, remind- 

 ing one somewhat of those of the Swifts, with wdiicli, as 

 already stated, the Humming-birds have a very manifest 

 affinity. They are moved by powerful muscles, and the 

 keel of the sternum, to which the great j)ectoral muscles 

 are attached, is probably more developed in these than 

 in any other birds. The structure of the sternum pre- 

 sents a very close general resemblance to that prevail- 

 ing in the Swifts. The legs are short and slender, 

 indicating that the birds are not in the habit of alight- 

 ing on the ground ; but the feet are terminated by long 

 toes, well adapted for perching upon the twigs of trees 

 and shrubs, which are the firvourite resting-places of 

 these feathered gems. The structure of the tongue and 

 its accessories is very remarkable in the Humming- 

 birds. The tongue itself is cleft nearly to its base; and 

 the branches of the hyoid bone, which supports the 

 tongue, are prolonged round tlie back of the skull 

 almost like springs. By the agency of this remarkable 

 organization, which, however, we shall meet witli else- 

 where amongst birds, the tongue acquires great capa- 

 Ijility of protrusion and retraction, so that it may work 

 within the tubular bill like the piston of a pump; and 

 the birds are said to use it in this way in sucking up 

 the sweet juices of flowers, which certainly constitute 



