THE LANGUAGE OF BIRDS. 275 
Fair Cyprepedia,* with successful guile 
Knits her smooth brow, extinguishes her smile ; 
A spider's bloated paunch and jointed arms 
Hide her fine form, and mask her blushing charms ; 
In ambush sly the mimic warrior lies, 
And on quick wing the panting plunderer flies. 
Darwin, 
* The Cyprepedium, from South America, has a large 
globular nectary, about the size of a pigeon's egg, of a fleshy 
colour, and an incision, or depression, on its upper part, much 
resembHng the body of the large American spider. This 
spider, called by Linuceus, Aranea avieularia, with a convex 
orbicular thorax, the centre transversely excavated ; he adds, 
that it catches small birds as well as insects, and has the 
venemous bite of a serpent. M. Louvilliers de Poincy, in 
his ** Histoire Nat. des Antillas," calls it a Phalange, and 
says it catches the humming bird in its strong nets. Darwin 
observes, that " the similitude of the Cyprepedium to this 
great spider seems to be a vegetable contrivance to prevent 
the humming bird from plundering its honey.'' 
