HUMMING-BIROS. 
107 
But of the various ways employed by these birds 
to procure an insect prey, the most singular as well as 
dangerous to themselves, is that of seizing the half- 
dead entangled flies from the webs of the large Mexican 
bird-spider — whose name implies a power to seize and 
detain some of the weaker at least of the feathered 
race. It is thus detailed by Mr Bullock, and is so 
curious that the account must be given without abridge- 
ment : — “ The house I resided in at Zalappa for several 
weeks, on my return to Vera Cruz, was only one story 
high, enclosing, like most of the Spanish houses, a 
small garden in the centre, the roof projecting six or 
seven feet from the walls, covering a walk all round, 
and leaving a small space only between the tiles and 
the trees which grew in the centre. From the edges 
of these tiles to the branches of the trees in the garden, 
the spiders had spread their innumerable webs so 
closely and compactly, that they resembled a net. I 
have frequently watched, with much amusement, the 
cautious peregrinations of the humming-bird, who, 
advancing beneath the web, entered the various laby- 
rinths and cells in search of entangled flies ; but as 
the larger spiders did not tamely surrender their booty, 
the invader was often compelled to retreat. Being 
within a few feet, I could observe all their evolutions 
with great precision. The active little bird generally 
passed once or twice round the court, as if to recon- 
noitre his ground, and commenced his attack by going 
carefully under the nets of the wily insect, and seizing 
by surprise the smallest entangled flies, or those that 
