86 THE NATURAL HISTORY 
They fly like butietthea fron flower to flowers 
and with their little tongues (which ate like a 
tube or pipe, and forked at the end) they fuck 
the honey, and that is what they live upon. | 
Their nefts are very curious. “They generally 
hang fromm the end of a branch of an orange ot of 
acitron-tree. The hen bird is bufy in building 
‘it, whilft the cock goes to fetclt cotton, atid mofs, 
: and the fineft grafs. It is about-as large 4s half 
an apricot, and warmly lined with cotton ; the 
outfide is the bark of gum- trees glued together. 
They lay two little eggs about the fize of peasy 
and the cock and hen fit by turns; but the her 
only leaves the eggs a little while in the morning, 
‘to get fome honey when the dew ié on the flowers. 
The little ones are hatched i in twelve aes and at 
firth are no larger than a great: blue fly. 
There was a ¢entlemnah in America eid foiind. 
~~ a neft of little Humming Birds (or Colibris) in a 
-fhed, near his houfe: he put theni into a cage, - 
_ and placed it in his chamber window. The old 
birds came to feed them every hour in thé day 
and they foon became fo tame, as to live from. 
- choice almoft: conftantly i in the room with their re 
young ones. | f cata tasishib: 3 
They frequently came , and fettled upon: hia: 
| hand, and he fed them with wine and biicuit and 
fugar. 
