Tue ZooLocisr—Aveust, 1876, 5023 
singularity of its movements. On being startled from the side of a brook, 
it flies off, flitting down the stream, close to the surface, uttering a rapid, 
chattering note; and having flown a certain distance, alights on a stone or 
drift-log, in or close to the water’s edge. Upon alighting it begins bobbing 
up and down, bending the knees as though curtseying, and eyes the intruder 
suspiciously. Having satisfied itself of safety, it walks into the water, 
picking here and there, and, getting beyond its depth, spreads its wings 
and disappears beneath the surface. Apparently as much at home under 
the water as above, it flies some distance beneath the surface, and stays 
under for a minute or more. At times it alights on the surface of the water 
and floats down the rapid stream like a cork, till it has found footing. In 
winter it frequently goes beneath the ice, walking with the utmost com- 
posure, and re-appearing at some air-hole a few ards off, * x 
Although its ordinary note is the rapid chatter referred to before, it has a 
very beautiful song, which it utters, however, very rarely, and then only in 
August, after the young birds are able to shift for themselves. Like the 
hermit thrush, it seeks the wildest, darkest ravines, and is very timid while 
singing. Its song is clear, sweet and varied, more wren-like than anything 
else, yet peculiarly its own, and, only to be heard amid the most romantic 
scenery mingled with the music of mountain torrents, has a charm that is 
wanting to other and finer songs.” 
We have only space for one more extract from the Doctor’s 
work, and this shall be given to his most interesting observations 
on the wings of humming birds, those feathered gems of the New 
World :— 
“The wings are remarkable in several respects. In general they are 
thin, sharp and pointed, with long, stiff, curved primaries, rapidly graduated, 
and short secondaries, resulting in the shape especially to be called falcate. 
They have but six remiges, in addition to the ten primaries. The upper 
arm-bone is extraordinarily short; perhaps representing the extreme of this 
condition among birds. The breast-bone is very large, and has an enormous 
keel; this is in relation to the immensely developed pectoral muscles that 
move the wing. The whole conformation illustrates perfectly a well-known 
law, yet one not often mentioned, respecting the movements of the wing of 
a bird, viz., that the nearer to the body the longest quill-feather is, the more 
rapidly is the body moved. We will assume, for example, what is very near 
the truth, that a humming-bird and an albatross have about the same 
relative length of wing in the ‘hand’ or pinion portion that bears the ten 
primaries, and the same relative length of these quills. In the albatross 
this portion of the wing is widely separated from the body by the length of 
the humerus and fore-arm; in the former, the reverse extreme exists; and 
