THE GREEN HUMMING-BIRD. 



69 



THE GREEN HUMMING-BIRD. 



" Rursus in arma feror.'* Virg. JEneid. 



Professor Rennie says, in his " Plan of Study," 

 that " in tropical climates, where the heat is great, 

 such domed nests are very common ; and are pro- 

 bably intended to protect the mother bird, while 

 hatching, from the intense heat of a perpendicular 

 sun." How well this theory suits the study ! how 

 ill it accords with facts in the field of nature ! Should 

 the Professor ever go to Guiana, he will see, in the 

 vast wet savannas of that far-extending region, that 

 the little green humming-bird, not much larger than 

 an humble bee, always makes its nest upon the dried 

 twig of a small, straggling, ill-thriving bush. There 

 is not one solitary leaf near the dry twig, to screen 

 the bird from the rising, the noon-day, or the setting 

 sun. Nevertheless, this little delicate creature sits 

 on its hemispherical nest, exposed to the downward 

 rays of the fiery luminary, without the least appa- 

 rent inconvenience. If, then, the tender little green 

 humming-bird can sit all day long exposed to such 

 an intense heat, surely the larger birds, such as the 

 bunya or cassique, surpassing our magpie in size, 

 cannot be supposed to make a dome to their nests, 

 in order to protect their tough and hardy bodies 

 from the rays of a tropical sun. I think this fact of 

 the incubation of the green humming-bird tends to 

 place the Professor's theory of domed nests amongst 

 his " little errors." 



F 3 



