110 
THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY, 
almost eludes the eye, and that admirable instinct, reason, 
or whatever else it may be called, and daring courage 
which heaven has implanted in its bosom, are its guides 
and protectors. In these we may also perceive the rea- 
son why an all-wise Providence has made this little hero 
an exception to a rule which prevails almost universally 
through nature, viz. that the smallest species of a tribe are 
the most prolific. The Eagle lays one, sometimes two, 
eggs; the Crow five; the Titmouse seven or eight; the 
small European Wren fifteen; the Humming-bird two, 
and yet this latter is abundantly more numerous in Ame- 
rica than the Wren is in Europe. 
About the twenty-fifth of April the Humming-bird 
usually arrives in Pennsylvania; and about the tenth of 
May begins to build its nest. This is generally fixed on 
the upper side of a horizontal branch, not among the twigs, 
but on the body of the branch itself. Yet I have known 
instances where it was attached by the side to an old moss- 
grown trunk; and others where it was fastened on a strong 
rank stalk, or weed, in the garden; but these cases are 
rare. In the woods it very often chooses a white oak sap- 
ling to build on; and in the orchard, or garden, selects a 
pear tree for that purpose. The branch is seldom more 
than ten feet from the ground. The nest is about an inch 
in diameter, and as much in depth. A very complete one 
is now lying before me, and the materials of which it is 
composed are as follow: — The outward coat is formed of 
small pieces of a species of bluish gray lichen that vege- 
tates on old trees and fences, thickly glued on with the 
saliva 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 sub- 
stance from the great mullein, 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 proprie- 
tors dart around with a humming sound, passing frequently 
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 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 ani- 
mal food; though from circumstances that will presently 
be mentioned, I think it highly probable they do. As I 
have found their nests with eggs so late as the twelfth of 
July, I do not doubt but that they frequently, and perhaps 
usually, raise two brood in the same season. 
The Humming-bird is extremely fond of tubular flow- 
ers, and I have often stopped, with pleasure, to observe 
his manoeuvres among the blossoms of the trumpet-flower. 
When arrived before a thicket of these that are full-blown, 
he poises, or suspends himself on wing, for the space of 
two or three seconds, so steadily, that his wings become 
invisible, or only like a mist; and you can plainly distin- 
guish the pupil of his eye looking round with great quick- 
ness and circumspection; the glossy golden green of his 
back, and the fire of his throat, dazzling in the sun, form 
altogether a most interesting appearance. The position 
into which the body is usually thrown while in the act of 
thrusting the slender tubular tongue into the flower, to 
extract its sweets, is exhibited in the figure on the plate. 
When it alights, which is frequently, it always prefers 
the small dead twigs of a tree, or bush, where it dresses 
and arranges its plumage with great dexterity. The note of 
the male is a single chirp, not louder than that of a small 
cricket or grasshopper, generally uttered while passing 
from flower to flower, or when engaged in fight with his 
fellows; for when two males meet at the same bush or 
flower, a battle instantly takes place; and the combatants 
ascend in the air, chirping, darting and circling around each 
other, till the eye is no longer able to follow them. The 
conqueror, however, generally returns to the place, to 
reap the fruits of his victory. I have seen him attack, and 
for a few moments tease the King-bird; and have also seen 
him, in his turn, assaulted by a humble-bee, which he soon 
put to flight. He is one of those few birds that are uni- 
versally beloved; and amidst the sweet dewy serenity of 
a summer’s morning, his appearance among the arbours of 
honeysuckles, and beds of flowers, is truly interesting. 
When morning' dawns, and the blest sun again 
Lifts his red glories from the Eastern main, 
Then through our woodbines, wet with glittering dews, 
The flower-fed Humming-bird his round pursues; 
Sips with inserted tube, the honeyed blooms, 
And chirps his gratitude as round he roams ; 
While richest roses, though in crimson drest, 
Shrink from the splendour of his gorgeous breast ; 
What heav’nly tints in mingling radiance fly ! 
Each rapid movement gives a different dye; 
Like scales of burnish’d gold they dazzling show, 
Now sink to shade — now like a furnace glow ! 
The singularity of this little bird has induced many 
persons to attempt to raise them from the nest, and accus- 
tom them to the cage. Mr. Goffer, of Fairfax county, 
Virginia, a gentleman who has paid great attention to the 
