XX 



INTRODUCTION. 



wingvS witliout alluding to the extraordinary development of the shafts of the primaries in the Campylopteru 

 The £;Teat dilatation of these feathers would lead one to suppose that they have an influence on the aerial 

 movements of the hirds; but, strange to say, this remarkable feature only occurs in the males; the females 

 being entirely destitute of it. It might naturally be supposed that such a modification of so important an 

 orojan must be formed with an especial object. What, then, can be the particular use of the broad dilated 

 shafts of these singularly and apparently awkwardly shaped wings ? Generally the primaries and secondaries 

 are of a sombre and uniform hue, while the shoulders or wing-coverts, in most instances, are of the same 

 colour as the other parts of the body. There are, however, a few, but a very few exceptions to the rule; 

 and I may mention the Eulampis jugular is and Pterophanes Temmincki?^^ instances in point : both these birds 

 have luminous wings, and must form very striking objects during flight; and, as I believe colour is seldom 

 given without the intention of its being exhibited, there is doubtless something peculiar in the economy of 

 these birds. The primaries and secondaries are in some instances stiflf and rigid, while in others they are 

 soft and yielding: some are broad, others narrow; they are always the same in number; and the first quill 

 is constantly the longest, except in Atthiirus pohjtmus, where the second exceeds the first in length. 



When we turn to the bill, we find this organ to be greatly diversified in form, and that each of these 

 variations appears to be specially adapted for some given purpose; indeed, I have never seen the law of 

 adaptation more beautifully exemplified than in the multiplied forms exhibited in the bills of the members of 

 the various genera of this family of birds. A certain generic character runs through the whole of 

 them : the gape in all cases is very small ; and whether the bill be curved or straight, the upper mandible 

 overlaps the under one on both sides, and thus forms an admirable protection for the delicate double-tubed 

 tongue. If we examine the extraordinarily lengthened bill of Dochnastes emrfenis and the short feeble bill 

 of the Lesbia Gouldi, we see the extremes as regards the length of this organ ; and we are not less astonished 

 at the functions they are both intended to perform. The bill of the D, ensifer, which is more than five 

 inches long, and which contains a tongue capable of being protruded nearly as far beyond its tip, is most 

 admirably fitted for the exploration of the lengthened and pendent corollas of the Bnigmansm'^ while the 

 short-billed Leshm cling to the upper portion of those flowers, pierce their bases, and with the delicate 

 feelers at the extremities of the tongue, readily secure the insects which there abound. I have been 

 assured by M. Bourcier that this is really a practice of the bird, and that it frequently resorts to this device 

 for the purpose of gaining its insect food ; but I suspect that, besides exploring the stalwart Brugmaiism, a 

 more delicate flora is the object for which its bill is especially formed. In no part of America are there so 

 many tubular-flowered plants as among the Andes ; and the greater number of the Hummino^-Birds found there 

 have straight and lengthened bills, such as the members of the genera ffeliant/iea, Bourcieria, Coelio'ena, etc. 

 The arched bills of the Phaethormthes are admirably adapted for securing the insects which resort to the 

 leaves of trees, and upon which these birds are said to exist. But how much are we astonished when we 

 examine the bill o^ Eutoweresl and find this organ curved downwards beyond the extent of a semicircle a 

 form beautifully adapted for exploring the scale-covered stems of the larger palms. 



Let us turn to another genus of this group — Grypus. Here the bill is not only armed with a strong 

 hook at the end of the mandibles, but with a row of numerous and thickly set teeth. The G. ncemis is 

 said to frequent the borders of the great forests, and to gain its food from among the interstices of the 

 bark of the palm trees. Both this bird and the Eutoweres, as well as the Phaethormthes^ are said (and, I 

 believe, with truth) to feed principally upon spiders ; and we know that these are the food of the Grypus, 



