4 
REVIEWS. 
wonders of whose hand we, at every step, discover, and of whose sublime con¬ 
ceptions we everywhere observe the manifestations in his admirable system of 
creation ? There breathes not such a person.” And this query and answer 
are equally applicable to the whole of this numerous family. 
The ancients knew nothing of the Trochilidas—for they inhabited no part 
of the old world; and even Africa and India had only types—but those 
splendid ones—in their creepers and honeysuckers, of this class of fairy 
birds. Their habitation is almost confined to the tropical portions of the new 
world, and that great archipelago of islands between Florida and the mouths 
of the Orinoco, with the mainland of the southern continent, until it passes 
the Tropic of Capricorn. There, in the wild, uncultivated parts, they in¬ 
habit those forests of magnificent timber, overhung with lianas and the 
splendid bignonaceae—the huge trunks clothed with a rich drapery of para¬ 
sites ; there, 
“ Like fairy sprites, a thousand birds 
Glance by on golden wing, 
Birds lovelier than the lovely hues 
Of the bloom wherein they sing.” 
But, while some thus rejoice in the moist air of the denser forest, others are 
equally at home in gardens or in flowery glades; and, during recent years, 
the most notable discovery in this department of ornithology has been made 
at a vast height among the mountains. This fact is proved by the follow¬ 
ing extract of a letter from Professor Jameson, of the University of Quito, 
to Sir William Jardine, in which, referring to the Trochilus Stanleyi, he 
writes as follows:—I enclose a specimen of hummingbird which must be 
considered as very rare; and it is with much difficulty I procured a very few 
specimens. The most interesting point of its history is the locality which 
it inhabits—the snowy summits of Pichincha; feeding from the flowers of 
Sida Pichinensis —a charming plant, which springs from the barren, sandy 
surface surrounding the crater, and displaying large, violet-purple flowers. 
The plant has no branches, and the little bird, insect-like, flutters round the 
flowers, and is remarkably quick in its movements; it only appears when 
the plant is in full flower; and, probably, in a few weeks it might be impos¬ 
sible to procure a single specimen.” Thus we see that these birds, while 
confined to the inter-tropical limits, are found at various heights—in the 
plain, well-nigh scorched beneath a glowing sun, where the palm-tree raises 
its lofty head; then, again, we see them higher up in the region where grow 
the graceful arborescent ferns; and, in the instance just quoted, we again 
* From MS. in Jardine Hall Library, as given in “ Excelsior,” vol. ii., page 262— 
a most valuable and interesting journal, published monthly, price 6d. With illustrations. 
London : J. Nisbet. 
