NORTH AMERICA 



99 



guishes the terrified vermin shrinking within to their inmost retreats, where his pointed and 

 barbed tongue soon reaches them. 



The Golden-ieinged Woodpecker (Picus auratus), though not so generally known as his red- 

 headed brother, is yet in considerable request by young sportsmen and farmers, the former of 



Red-hcadcd Woodpecker. The Golden xoinged Woodpecker. 



whom hold his flesh in great esteem, and the latter take every opportunity to destroy him for 

 his attacks on the Indian corn. They employ themselves in hollowing out a tree for a nest, 

 for several days, and may even be heard late in the evening, thumping like carpenters. They 

 carry in no materials for a nest, and their food varies with the season. This bird is known 

 by a variety of names, as high pole, high hole, &,c. 



The Humming Bird [Trochilus Colubris). This little bird is remarkable for its beauty, 

 minuteness, want of song, and manner of feeding. There are upwards of 70 species in 

 America and the adjacent islands, one only of which is found in the United States. This is 

 found in Canada in great numbers, where it arrives from the south. It is wonderful how such 

 a little creature can makes its way over such extensive regions of lakes and forests ; but its 

 very minuteness^ the rapidity of its flight, and its admirable instinct and courage, are its guides 

 and protectors. 



The nest of this little bird is fixed on the upper side of the branch of a tree. Instances 

 have been known of its building on an old moss-gi'own trunk, or on a strong weed in the 

 garden ; but these cases are rare. The nest is about an inch in diameter and an inch deep, 

 formed of lichen, wings of certain flying seeds, and of the downy substance from the great 

 mullein. The eggs are two, of a pure white. If any one approaches the nest, the little pro- 

 prietors dart around with a humming sound, frequently passing within a few inches of his head. 

 Their only note is a single chirp, not louder than that of a cricket or grasshopper. 



The humming bird is extremely fond of tubular flowers, particularly of the blossoms of the 

 trumpet-flower. When arrived before a thicket of these, that are full blown, he suspends 

 himself on the wing for the space of two or three seconds so steadily, that his wings become 

 nvisible, or only like a mist ; the glossy golden green of his back, and the fire of his throat, 

 dazzling in the sun, form altogether an interesting spectacle. When he alights, he prefers the 

 small dead twigs of a bush, where he dresses and arranges his plumage with great dexterity. 

 He is one of the few birds that are universally beloved. His flight from flower to flower 

 greatly resembles that of a bee, but is infinitely more rapid. He poises himself on the wing, 

 while he thrusts his long, slender tongue into the flowers in search of food. He sometimes 

 enters a room by the window, examines the bouquets of flowers, and passes out by the oppa- 



