■jo HUMMING-BIRD. 



'l^ces ak» This elegant fpecies is common in Carolina, and, like the Rujf- 



Mankers. Necked, vifits the more northern parts of America"; we hear of it irr 



Canada *, and even as far as the Bay of VSaJpe f ; and I have 

 authority for faying, that it breeds both at Halifax and Quebec. 



Kalm J informs us, that they come into Penfylvania in fpring,. 

 when pretty warm, and make their nefts in fummer j towards 

 autumn departing to the fouth. 



Thefe birds fubfift on the ne&ar or fweet juice of flowers j 

 they frequent thofe moft which have a long tube; particularly the 

 Impatient noli me tangere, the Monarda with crimfon flowers,, 

 and thofe of the Convolvulus tribe : they never fettle on the flower 

 during the action of extracting the juice, but flutter continually, 

 like Bees, moving their wings very quick, and making a humming 

 noife; whence their name§: they are not very ftry, fuffering 

 people to come within a foot or two of the place where they are, 

 but on approaching nearer fly off, like an arrow out of a bow : 

 they often meet and fight for the right to a flower,, and this all 

 on the wing || : in this Hate often come into rooms where the 

 windows ftand open, fight a little, and go out again**. When- 

 they come to a flower which is juicelefs, or on the point of 



* Cbarlev.HiJl. de la Nou-v. France, iii. p. 158. 



f Nou-v. relal. de la Gafp'ejte, par Le R. P. Chr. Leclercq. p. 486. 



J 'Travels in North America, vol. i. p. 2 1 6. 



§ Whoever has ken in England the method by which the Sphinx-motbs take 

 in their nourifhment, will have a juft idea of that of the Humming-bird, efpe- 

 cially that fpecies called the Humming-bird-moth. 



\\ Often flying to a vaft height quite perpendicular, fhrieking out at the 

 fame time with all their might. 



** They are often caught in this manner, as they direftly make to the cieling, 

 in the manner of Moths. 



withering, 



