338 EED-THllOATED HUMMING-BIRD. 



even of this diminutive bird, in defence of its 

 young. " JVhe7i they see a man clime the tree 

 where they have their nests, they flee at his face^ 

 and strike him in the eyes, commyng, goyingy and 

 returning, with such swyftnessy that no man would 

 lyghtly beleeve it that hath not seen it:* Their 

 nests are found with great difficulty, being built 

 in the branch of a tree, amidst the thick foliage. 

 It is of an elegance suitable to the architects ; 

 formed on the outside v^ith moss, and in the inside 

 lined with down or gossamer collected from the 

 great Mullein or Verbascum Thapsus ; but it is 

 also sometimes made of flax, hemp, hair, and 

 other soft materials. The female is said to be the 

 builder; the male supplying her with materials: 

 each assists in the labour of incubation, which 

 continues during twelve days: they lay only two 

 eggs, white, and as small as pease: the first is 

 very singular, and contrary to the general rule of 

 Nature, which makes, in all other instances, the 

 smallest and most defenceless birds the most pro- 

 lific. The reasons of the exception in this case 

 are double: the smallness of their bodies causes 

 them commonly to escape the eyes of birds of 

 prey, or if seen, their rapid flight eludes the pur? 

 suit; so that the species is preserved as fully as if 

 they had been the most numerous breeders/' 



This species is, according to the observations 

 of Monsr. Viellot, of a tender and delicate nature, 

 and cannot support the want of its accustomed 

 food for more than twelve or fourteen hours at 

 farthest. In autumn it frequently perishes, in 



