ZOOLOGY. 35 



EUBY-THEOAT HUMMING BiED (TwchHus colubris). There 

 is a tradition that the humming bird visited the islands of 

 Bermuda, in considerable numbers, about thirty years ago ; 

 but of late years they have not been noticed tiU 26th April; 

 1852, when Mr. Hurdis wrote to me, saying that Mr. John 

 DarreU, (son of the then Attorney-General, now Chief Jus- 

 tice,) of those Islands, had seen a humming bird under the 

 windows of his father's house, where it was busily employed 

 entering the large white bell-shaped flowers of the giant 

 stramonium, its tail only at times being visible. Another 

 was seen about the same time, and within about two miles 

 of the above place, by a Miss Watson, iu her brother's 

 garden. 



ViEGiNiAif Night Hawk (Ghordeiles Virginiamts). These 

 curious birds are sometimes very common in April, and also 

 in September and October, on their migration north and 

 south. The marsh below Government House was their 

 great resort, when just as it was getting dusk, they would 

 appear one by one, and soon be skimming about in aU 

 directions, uttering every now and then a sharp, whirring 

 sort of cry. They double and rush about ia a most wonder- 

 ful manner, frequently depressing first one side, then the 

 other ; although flying close together, they seem to try and 

 keep apart, each having seemingly its own hunting ground. 

 I had, however, better opportunities of noticing these birds 

 in the West Indies than in Bermuda. They must commit 

 great havoc amongst the mosquitoes (hence its name, 

 mosquito hawk), and other small insects. I saw several 

 of them sitting on the guns of the keep, near the Commis- 

 sioner's house, Ireland Island, on the 10th of October, 1849. 

 On the 5th of February, 1848, Colonel Drummond saw a 



