208 
TROCHILUS COLUBRIS. 
downy substance 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 pro- 
tuberance. The eggs are two, pure white, and of equal 
thickness at both ends. On a person’s approaching 
their nest, the little proprietors 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 animal food ; though, from circumstances that 
w r ill presently be mentioned, I think it highly probable 
they do. As I have found their nests with eggs so late 
as the 12th of July, I do not doubt but that they fre- 
quently, and perhaps usually, raise two brood in the 
same season. 
The humming bird is extremely fond of tubular 
flowers, and I have often stopt, 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 distinguish the pupil of his eye looking 
round with great quickness 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. When he alights, which is 
frequently, he always prefers the small dead twigs 
of a tree, or bush, where he dresses and arranges his 
plumage with great dqxterity. His only note is a 
single chirp, not louder than that of a small cricket 
