562 AVES — HUMMING-BIRD. 



THE HUMMING-BIRD OF THE UNITED STATES.i 



This little bird is remarkable for its beauty, minuteness, want of song, 

 and manner of feeding. There are upwards of seventy species in America 

 and the adjacent islands, one only of which is found in the United States. 

 This is found in Canada in great numbers, where it arrives from the south. 

 It is wonderful how such a little creature can make its way over such ex- 

 tensive regions of lakes and forests. But its very minuteness, the rapidity 

 of its flight, and its admirable instinct and courage, are its guides and pro- 

 tectors. 



The nest of this little bird is fixed on the upper side of the branch of a 

 tree. Instances have been knoAvn of its building on an old moss-grown 

 trunk, or on a strong weed in the g;irden ; but these cases are rare. This 

 nest is about an inch in diameter, an inch deep, formed of lichen, Avings of 

 certain flying seeds, and of a downy substance from the great mullein. The 

 eggs are two, of a pure white. If any one approaches the nest, the little 

 proprietors dart around with a humming sound, frequently passing Avithin a 

 few inches of your head. His only note is a single chirp, not louder than 

 that of a cricket or grasshopper. 



The humming-bird is extremely fond of tubular flowers, particularly of 

 the blossoms of the trumpet flower. When arrived before a thicket of these, 

 that are full blown, he suspends himself on wing for the space of two or 

 three seconds, so steadily, that his wings become invisible, or only like a 

 mist ; the glossy golden green of his back, and fire of his throat, dazzling in 

 the sun, form altogether an interesting spectacle. When he alights, he 

 prefers the small dead twigs of a bush where he dresses and arranges his 

 plumage with great dexterity. He is one of the few birds that is universally 

 beloved. His flight from flower to flower greatly resembles that of a bee, 

 but is infinitely more rapid. He poises himself on the wing, while he thrusts 

 his long slender tongue into the flowers in search of food. He sometimes 

 enters a room by the window, examines the bouquets of flowers, and passes 

 out by the opposite door or window. It has hitherto been supposed to sub- 

 sist entirely on the honey which it extracts from flowers. But they are 

 known to feed on insects, being seen for half an hour at a time, darting at 

 little groups of insects with the dexterity of the flycatcher. 



The humming-bird is three inches and a half in length, and of a rich 

 golden green color, while the feathers round his throat are black, crimson, 

 and orange, mingled together, giving him a very brilliant appearance. 



1 Trochilus colubris, Lin. 



