THE LANGUAGE OF BIRDS. 271 
determine 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. For myself, I can speak decisively on 
this subject: I have seen the humming bird, for 
half an hour at a time, darting at those little groups 
of insects that dance in the air in a fine summer 
evening, retiring to an adjoining tw^ig to rest, and 
renewing the attack with a dexterity that sets all our 
other fly-catchers at defiance. I have opened, from 
time to time, great numbers of these birds ; have 
examined the contents of the stomach with suitable 
glasses, and in three cases out of four, have found 
these to consist of broken fragments of insects. In 
many subjects, entire insects of the coleopterous 
class, but very small, were found unbroken. The 
observations of Mr. Coffer, as detailed above, and 
the remarks of my worthy friend, Mr. Peale, are cor- 
roborative of these facts. It is well known that the 
humming-bird is particularly fond of tubular flowers, 
where numerous small insects of this kind resort to 
feed on the farina^ &c. ; and there is every reason 
for believing that he is as often in search of these 
insects as of honey ; and that the former compose at 
