E.UBT- THROATED . 



39 



and fences, thickly glued on with the saliva (or spittle) of the 

 bird, giving firmness and consistency to the whole, as well 

 as keeping out moisture. "Within this are thick matted layers 

 of the fine wings of certain flying seeds, closely laid together; 

 and lastly, the downy substance from the great mullien, and 

 from the stalks of the common fern, lines the whole. The 

 base of the nest is continued round the stem of the branch, 

 to which it closely adheres; and, when viewed from below, 

 appears a mere mossy knot, or accidental protuberance. 



The eggs are two, pure white, and of equal thickness at 

 both ends. On a person's approaching their nest, the little 

 proprietors dart around with a humming sound, frequently 

 passing within a few inches of one's head; and should the 

 young be newly hatched, the female will resume her place on 

 the nest, even while you stand within a yard or two of the 

 spot. The precise period of incubation, (that is, sitting on the 

 eggs,) I am unable to give, but the young are in the habit, 

 a short time before they leave the nest, of thrusting their 

 bills into the mouths of their parents, and sucking what they 

 have brought them. I never could perceive that they carried 

 them any animal food; though from circumstances that will 

 presently be mentioned, I think it highly probable that they 

 do. As I have found their nests with eggs so late as the 

 12th. of July, I do not doubt but they frequently, and perhaps 

 usually, raise two broods in the year. 



The Humming Bird has, hitherto, been supposed to subsist 

 altogether upon the honey, or liquid sweets, which it extracts 

 from flowers. One or two curious observers have indeed re- 

 marked that they have found evident fragments of insects in 

 the stomach of this species; but these have been generally 

 believed to have been taken in by accident. The few oppor- 

 tunities which Europeans have of determining this point by 

 observations made on the living bird, or by dissection of the 

 newly-killed one, have rendered this mistaken opinion almost 

 general in Europe. Eor myself, I can speak decisively on 

 this subject: I have seen the Humming Bird for half an hour 

 at the time, darting at those little groups of insects that dance 

 in the air on a fine summer evening, retiring to an adjoining- 

 twig to rest, and renewing the attack with a dexterity that 

 sets all other fly- catchers at defiance. I have opened, from 



