BIRDS. 233 
and cheerful bird, and has a pleasant note. It builds its 
nest in the holes of trees. 
The Ox-eye Creeper is not much bigger than a wren. 
It has a long, slender, sharp bill. The throat and breast 
are white ; the head, back, and wings of a fox colour ; 
the middle parts of the wings whitish ; above the eyes, 
on each side, there is a white spot. It is commonly seen 
in England, and builds in hollow trees. The smaller the 
bird, in general, the greater number of eggs the female 
lays: the number of the Creeper's eggs is sometimes 
above twenty. It is curious to see the Creepers climb up 
the stem of a tree, always going round in a spiral direc- 
tion, but with the greatest agility, in search of those in- 
sects, which, while feeding themselves on smaller ones, 
become the prey of these little birds. In America the 
Creeper hatches twice during the summer, and has gene- 
rally from eighteen to twenty eggs at a time. 
THE HUMMING-BIRDS. ( Trochilus colubris.) 
THERE are numerous species of Huinming-Birds, but 
that represented in the plate is one of the most common. 
Humming-Birds are abundant in South America, parti- 
cularly in Brazil ; and they are so small and so brilliant 
in their colours, that when they are seen fluttering about 
in the brilliant rays of a tropical sun, they look like fly- 
