Humming-birds. 
THE BIRD WORLD. 
( IJ 9) 
Humming-Birds. 
By MISS DYDDGU HAMILTON. 
As long - ago as 1824, 200 species of 
Humming-birds were already known. At the 
present time over 500 species are counted, and in 
all probability the list is not nearly complete. 
They belong exclusively to the New World, 
and are, in the main, confined between the 
Tropics. Both in structure and in habits all the 
members of the family show a wonderful uni¬ 
formity, while, on the other hand, there is an 
excessive variation in their plumage, both as to 
colour and ornament. 
Family Features. 
Cuvier places the Trochilidae (Humming-birds) 
between the Creepers (including the Sun-birds) 
and the Hoopoes. No intermediate forms con¬ 
nect them with any other group. Their wings 
have the quill-feathers graduated so as to give 
the appearance of a sickle. The first quill is 
longest, and so on in succession, as in our 
Swifts, and in all birds of strong flight. Their 
legs are very short, so that it is impossible for 
them to walk on the ground, and they always 
feed upon the wing, though occasionally they 
may be seen, when perched upon a leafless twig, 
probing with their beak the flowers within their 
reach. 
When a Humming-bird has settled on a 
branch, there he remains, quiet and motionless, 
looking as stiff and artificial as our own King¬ 
fisher. They are comparatively sedentary birds, 
though they can fly uncommonly fast and well, 
and they never loiter on the wing. Their flight 
is unlike that of all other birds. They dart to 
and fro and skip about in the capricious manner 
of insects, buzzing up the tree trunks and only 
stopping at intervals to pick off some minute 
morsel of food. Their fare consists of small 
spiders and insects, and honey from the flowers. 
More Beauty than Brains. 
Mentally they do not rank high. Their actions, 
though quick and precise, are monotonous and 
mechanical. Their instinct of self-preservation 
is in an even more simple condition than that of 
an insect, who will at least struggle to release 
itself from the hand of a captor, whereas the 
Humming-bird, after being chased about and 
caught, will almost immediately feed on any 
sweet offered to it, without betraying either fear 
or resentment. 
On the other hand, their beauty is beyond 
words. The South American Indians call them 
“ Jiving sunbeams ”; but even such a title as that 
gives no idea of their resplendent rainbow-hues, 
glittering and flashing like jewels and gold in 
the fairy palace of Aladdin. Among such a vast 
variety of brilliant beauty, who shall decide- 
which excels ! My own favourites are the little 
scarlet-throated Selasphorus alleni from Cali¬ 
fornia, and the glorious purple 'and emerald 
Panoplites jardini from Ecuador. But one 
might as well take upon oneself to select which 
should be first favourite among the flowers, as 
to lay down the law about these living blossoms. 
Fairies and Fighters. 
They are seen at their loveliest when darting 
swiftly about the honeyed flowers, or hovering 
motionless on misty wings, whose exceedingly 
rapid vibrations make them all but invisible, “ a 
sapphire stilled upon air ”—for no wings are 
seen. The humming sound from which the bird 
derives its name is caused by this quick vibration 
of its wings. These tiny birds are as brave as they 
are beautiful, attacking even man himself in 
defence of their nest and young. Humboldt tells 
us that the Mexicans say that Toyamiqui, the 
wife of the God of War, led the souls of those 
warriors who had died fighting for the gods 
into the mansion of the Sun, and there changed 
them into Humming-birds. It may be that the 
little creatures are so daring because they have 
practically no enemies, their exceedingly swift 
and erratic flight making it almost impossible: 
for any bird or beast of prey to catch them.. 
Therefore, in spite of being slow breeders, they 
are extremely numerous. 
Liliputian Flomes. 
Their nests are made of spiders’ web, veget¬ 
able down, lidhen and fine grass compactly felted; 
together. Some nests are small, deep and cup¬ 
shaped ; others, like those of the Phaethornince ■ 
(or forest species), are long, purse-shaped nests, 
built on the inner side of the tips of palm fronds. 
The eggs are seldom more than two, small, 
white, with ends of equal size. Incubation lasts 
a fortnight, and the young fly when they are 
three weeks old. When first hatched they are 
naked and blind. The plumage differs in the 
male and female, but the young males resemble- 
the female, and any additional feather orna¬ 
ments which adorn the males of certain species- 
do not appear until towards, the middle of the 
second year. 
Humming-birds in Aviculture. 
Humming-birds are very easily, tamed, and: 
are fairly easy to keep in captivity when their 
wants are understood. The great troubleJs get¬ 
ting them alive to England at all, let alone bring¬ 
ing them over in good condition. But they have 
been brought over on more than one occasion,,. 
