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THE HUMMING-BIRD. 



riously short, I wish the young naturalist to keep 

 this feature in mind. By so doing, when he 

 enters a museum in any part of the world, he will 

 perceive at one glance, whether the specimen before 

 him, is a humming-bird from America, or whether 

 it belongs to some other tribe of birds, no matter, 

 from what part of the world ; even though, it be 

 decked in metallic colors, as these colors may be 

 seefi in other birds, just as well as in the humming- 

 birds. 



Let us now proceed to examine these resplendent 

 gems of the new world, in their component parts 

 and habits. 



The entire tribe of humming-birds exhibits the 

 same form of wings, (with a trifling variation 

 in some of the primary feathers) legs, and feet. 

 But the bills in certain species, vary to some 

 extent. Some have the bill short and quite straight. 

 In others, it has a downward curve, in shape some- 

 what like a cobbler's awl; whilst here and there we 

 find other species with the end of the bill turned 

 upwards, as in that of our own avoset. In the 

 year 1806, I killed a humming-bird with its bill so 

 formed, about forty miles up the river Demerara. 

 It was sitting on a twig which was hanging over 

 the water. 



In one species of humming-bird, found in 



