NliCXAiusiD^E.- UIRDS. 'i'r.oc'iiiLiD.i;. 307 
is higher than the forehead ; the lower mandible is not 
more than half as long as the upper one, into the lower 
surface of which it fits. This curious bird has the 
upper surface of the body olive-coloured ; the forehead 
and cheeks, the throat and breast, are bright yellow, 
as are also the eyebrows. The female is more sober 
in her colours, and has no yellow except on the eye- 
brows. The length of the bird is about six inches. 
THE BLUE GUIT-GUIT {Ccereba cyaned). Besides 
the preceding and numerous allied species inhabiting 
the Old World, a few birds belonging to this family are 
found in the tropical parts of America. The Blue 
Guit-guit is one of these. It has a nearly straight, 
acute bill, of moderate length, and a short square tail. 
The general colour of its plumage is a fine, lustrous, 
indigo blue, the forehead is brilliant ultramarine blue, 
and a violet-black band passes over the eyes. It mea- 
sures about five inches in length. This beautiful little 
bird is abundant in Brazil and Guiana, especially in 
the latter country, whence numerous specimens are 
brought to Europe, where they are often regarded as 
Humming-birds. In its habits this bird closely resem- 
bles the rest of the Nectar inidcB ; it hovers about the 
flowers in search of their sweet juices and of the insects 
which conceal themselves among the petals, and also 
captures insects upon the branches of trees and shrubs. 
The nest is suspended at the extremity of a slender 
twig ; it is constructed very artificially with straws and 
other coarse materials externally, and lined with soft 
matters, woven into the form of a chemist’s retort with 
a neck about a foot long, through which the little 
architects obtain access to the true nest situated in the 
belly of the retort. Here the eggs are laid, and thus 
the brood and their parents are sheltered from their 
enemies. 
THE CAYENNE DAENIS [Darnis cayana), another 
species abundant in Guiana, is rather more than four 
inches in length, and of a glossy green colour, streaked 
with white on the lower surface. It resides in the 
forests, and usually keeps in the upper parts of high 
trees, preferring those which are in flower. Here it 
creeps about in every direction upon the branches and 
twigs in search of spiders and insects, which appear to 
constitute at least the greater part of its nourishment. 
The nest is built at the top of lofty trees. 
THE BLACK AND YELLOW CERTHIOLE {Certliiola 
flaveola) is an inhabitant of tropical South America 
and the West Indian islands, where it appears to be 
abundant. Its general colour is ashy-grey, but the 
head is blackish, with a white streak over each eye, 
united behind the head. The anterior part of the wings 
is margined with bright yellow, and the rump, breast, 
and abdomen are yellow, becoming greyish towards the 
vent. The length of the bird is about four inches and 
a half. The Certhiole is called the Sucrier in Cayenne, 
from its frequenting the , sugar-canes for the sake of 
their sweet viscous juice ; it also haunts flowers, partly 
in search of their nectar, but partly for the insects con- 
tained in them. It is said to have a short but agree- 
able song. During the greater part of the year it is a 
very solitary bird, and even during the breeding season 
usually endeavours to keep all its fellows from the place 
which it has selected for its dwelling. Its nest is sus- 
pended at the extremity of the most flexible twigs, and 
it usually selects those for this purpose which hang over 
the middle of a brook. The nest, which is exclusively 
the work of the female, is constructed of moss, dry 
vegetable fibres, and the cotton and down of plants. 
These materials are so closely interwoven, and so 
strongly attached to the supporting twig, that the 
whole must be broken to pieces if it be desired to 
remove it without cutting the twigs. The entrance is 
from below, and the nest is divided vertically by a 
partition into two chambers, one of which serves as a 
sort of staircase to enable the bird to ascend to the top 
of the nest, whence it then descends into the second 
chamber, which has no direct communication with the 
exterior. In this chamber the female lays her eggs 
and performs the business of incubation, sheltered 
from all her enemies ; security is still further provided 
for by the male keeping watch in the outer chamber 
of this ingeniously- constructed dwelling. With this 
interesting species we ma}^ close our notice of the 
present family, and pass to that of the Humming-birds. 
Family III.-TROCHILIDAE. 
The birds forming this family, which are undoubted!}^ 
the gems of our ornithological treasuries, are peculiar 
to the New World, in the tropical parts of which they 
abound, adorning the gardens, fields, and woods, and 
even the mountain sides to a considerable height, with 
their swiftly glancing fairy-like forms, and brilliant 
sparkling colours. These charming little birds, the 
smallest, as a group, of all the feathered tribes, are 
furnished with a long and more or less acute bill, 
which is sometimes straight and sometimes curved, and 
has the lateral margins of its upper mandible dilated 
beyond the edges of the lower one. The nostrils are 
situated at the base of the upper mandible, and con- 
cealed beneath a large scale, which is sometimes covered 
with feathers. The wings are long and pointed, remind- 
ing one somewhat of those of the Swifts, with which, as 
already stated, the Humming-birds have a very manifest 
affinity. They are moved by powerful muscles, and the 
keel of the sternum, to which the great pectoral muscles 
are attached, is probably more developed in these than 
in any other birds. The structure of the sternum pre- 
sents a very close general resemblance to that prevail- 
ing in the Swifts. The legs are short arid slender, 
indicating that the birds are not in the habit of alight- 
ing on the ground ; but the feet are terminated by long 
toes, well adapted for perching upon the twigs of trees 
and shrubs, which are the favourite resting-places of 
these feathered gems. The structure of the tongue and 
its accessories is very remarkable in the Humming- 
birds. The tongue itself is cleft nearly to its base; and 
the branches of the hyoid bone, which supports the 
tongue, are prolonged round the back of the skull 
almost like springs. By the agency of this remarkable 
organization, which, howevei', we shall meet with else- 
where amongst birds, the tongue acquires great capa- 
bility of protrusion and retraction, so that it may work 
within the tubular bill like the piston of a pump ; and 
the birds are said to use it in this way in sucking up 
the sweet juices of flowers, which certainly constitute 
