OUR HOME BIRDS. 
185 
cipally of insects, generally of beetles, these, together 
with some small flies, being often found in their 
stomachs. The first are procured within the flowers ; 
the latter are generally taken on the wing. The 
humming bird may therefore be looked upon as an 
expert fly-catcher. 
“ There are about one hundred different kinds of 
humming-birds, and the smallest is scarcely a quar- 
ter of an inch in length, being less than many of our 
bees. The Indian name of ‘ Sunbeam ’ or ‘ Lock-of- 
the-Sun ’ is most appropriate for these living jewels ; 
and the smaller kinds are worn as ear-rings by the 
Indian maidens. Great quantities of them are killed 
in Mexico and South America for the brilliancy of 
their colors ; and the Indians catch them by cover- 
ing a twig with some sticky substance and holding 
this near the flower about which they are fluttering. 
They alight on the twig unsuspiciously, and, finding 
themselves unable to leave it, very soon die. 4 The 
ancient Mexicans used this beautiful plumage to 
decorate their state robes, and the royal mantles, 
composed almost entirely of these resplendent plumes, 
must have presented a mass of glowing magnificence 
which no imperial robe of the present day could even 
approach, and whose refulgence the eye could scarcely 
support/ 
“ So you see that the very beauty of this insect- 
