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CARIPI 



the shape of the head and position of the eyes in the 

 moth are seen to be nearly the same as in the bird, the 

 extended proboscis representing the long beak. At the 

 tip of the moth's body there is a brush of long hair-scales 

 resembling feathers, which, being expanded, looks very 

 much like a bird's tail. But, of course, all these points 

 of resemblance are merely superficial. The negroes and 

 Indians tried to convince me that the two were of the same 

 species. ' Look at their feathers ', they said ; ' their 

 eyes are the same, and so are their tails.' This belief 

 is so deeply rooted that it was useless to reason with 

 them on the subject. The Macroglossa moths are found 

 in most countries, and have everywhere the same habits ; 

 one well-known species is found in England. Mr. Gould 

 relates that he once had a stormy altercation with an 

 English gentleman, who affirmed that humming-birds 

 were found in England, for he had seen one flying in 

 Devonshire, meaning thereby the moth Macroglossa 

 stellatarum. The analogy between the two creatures 

 has been brought about, probably, by the similarity of 

 their habits, there being no indication of the one having 

 been adapted in outward appearance with reference to 

 the other. 



It has been observed that humming-birds are unlike 

 other birds in their mental qualities, resembling in this 

 respect insects rather than warm-blooded vertebrate 

 animals. The want of expression in their eyes, the 

 small degree of versatility in their actions, the quickness 

 and precision of their movements, are all so many points 

 of resemblance between them and insects. In walking 

 along the alleys of the forest a Phaethornis frequently 

 crosses one's path, often stopping suddenly and remaining 

 poised in mid-air, a few feet distant from the face of the 

 intruder. The Phaethorninse are certainly more numerous 

 in individuals in the Amazons region than the Trochilinae. 

 They build their nests, which are made of fine vegetable 

 fibres and lichens, densely woven together and thickly 

 lined with silk-cotton from the fruit of the samauma tree 

 (Eriodendron samaiima), on the inner sides of the tips 

 of palm fronds. They are long and purse-shaped. The 

 young when first hatched have very much shorter bills 

 than their parents. The only species of Trochilinae which 

 I found at Caripi were the Httle brassy-green Polytmus 

 viridissimus, the Sapphire and emerald (Thalurania 



