::::::::3e THE HOT LANDS OF THE PACIFIC m:::::: 



PAINTED REDSTART CAUGHT ON THORN 



owls, snakes, the elements, and a hundred others. 

 The tiny hright eyes of the hummingbirds, their 

 marvellous vibrating wings, and their small size protect 

 them from hawks and all such birds of prey. They 

 fight fiercely among themselves, sometimes to the death, 

 but it is very strange that these mites of the air are 

 not more numerous — their food, the tiny insects in 

 flowers, is so abundant^ and their nests are so well 

 concealed. 



A few months before we reached Mexico a certain 

 hummingbird had been tightly curled up in the tiniest 



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