sitions, and modes of life which are not to be noticed in any other group o f birds : their cylindrical bills,
double-tubed tongues, enormously developed stemums, and corresponding pectoral muscles, rigid primaries
(the first o f which is the longest), and their diminutive feet separate them from all others. In the Swifts and
Fissirostral birds generally, the sexes are alike in outward appearance; in the Humming-Birds they are in
nearly every instance totally different in their colouring; in the former the young assume the livery o f the
adult before they leave the nest, while the contrary is the case with the Humming-Birds. How different,
too, is the texture o f the luminous feathers with which they are clothed; and vastly diversified in form as
the tail is in the various genera, the number of feathers in the whole o f them is invariably ten. In their
disposition they are unlike birds, and approach more nearly to insects. Many o f the species fearlessly
approach almost within reach of the hand; and if they enter an open window, which curiosity may lead them
to do, they may be chased and battled with round the apartment until they fall exhausted; and if then
taken up by the hand, they almost immediately feed upon any sweet, or pump up any fluid, that may be
offered them, without betraying either fear or resentment at their previous treatment. A Trochilus Colubris,
captured for me by some friends at Washington (Baron Osten Sacken, Mr. Odo Russell, and his brother
Mr. Arthur Russell), immediately afterwards partook o f some saccharine food that was presented to it,
and in two hours it pumped the fluid out o f a little bottle whenever I offered i t ; and in this way it lived
with me a constant companion for several days, travelling in a little thin gauzy bag distended by a slender
piece o f whalebone and suspended to a button o f my coat. It was only necessary for me to take the little
bottle from my pocket to induce it to thrust its spiny bill through the gauze, protrude its lengthened
tongue down the neck o f the bottle, and pump up the fluid until it was satiated; it would then retire to the
bottom of its little home, preen its wing- and tail-feathers, and seem quite content.
The specimens I brought alive to this country were as docile and fearless as a great moth or any other
insect would be under similar treatment. The little cage in which they lived was twelve inches long, by
seven inches wide, and eight inches high. In this was placed a diminutive twig o f a tree, and, suspended
to the side, a glass phial which I daily supplied with saccharine matter in the form o f sugar or honey and
water, with the addition o f the yelk of an unboiled egg. Upon this food they appeared to thrive and be
happy during the voyage along the sea-bord o f America and across the Atlantic, until they arrived within
the influence of the climate o f Europe. Off the western part o f Ireland symptoms of drooping unmistakeaby
exhibited themselves; but, although they never fully rallied, I, as before stated, succeeded in bringing one o f
them alive to London,where it died on the second day after its arrival at my house. The vessel in which I made
the passage took a northerly course, which carried us over the banks o f Newfoundland ; and although the
cold was rather severe during part o f the time, the only effect it appeared to have upon my little pets was to
induce a kind of torpidity, from which, however, they were readily aroused by placing them in the sunshine,
or in some warm situation, such as before a fire, in the bosom, &c. I do assure my readers that I have seen
these birds cold and stiff, and to all appearance dead, and that from this state they were readily restored
by a little attention and removal into light and heat, when they would “ perk up,” flutter their little wings,
and feast away upon their usual food as if in the best state of health.
How wonderful must be the mechanism which sets in motion and sustains for so lengthened a time
the vibratory movements o f a Humming-Bird’s wings ! To me their action appeared unlike anything o f the
kind I had ever seen before, and strongly reminded me o f a piece o f machinery acted upon by a powerful
spring. I was particularly struck by this peculiarity in* the flight, as it was exactly the opposite of what I
expected. The bird does not usually glide through the air with the quick darting flight of a Swallow or
Swift, but continues tremulously moving its wings while passing from flower to flower, or when taking a more
distant flight over a high tree or across a river. When poised before any object, this action is so rapidly
performed that it is impossible for the eye to follow each stroke, and a hazy semicircle of indistinctness 011
each side o f the bird is all that is perceptible. “ The wind produced by the wings of these little birds,” says
Mr. Salvin, “ appears to be very considerable ; for I noticed that while an example of Cyanomyia cyanocep/iala
which had flown into the room was hovering over a large piece of wool, the entire surface of the wool was
violently agitated.” Although many short intermissions of rest are taken during the day, the bird may be
said to live in air— an element in which it performs every kind of evolution with the utmost ease, frequently
rising perpendicularly, flying backward, pirouetting or dancing off, as it were, from place to place, or from
one part o f a tree to another, sometimes descending, at others ascending; it often mounts up above
the towering trees, and then shoots off like a little meteor at a right angle ; at other times it quietly buzzes
away among the little flowers near the ground; at one moment it is poised over a diminutive weed, at the
next it is seen at a distance o f forty yards, whither it has vanished with the quickness of thought. During
the heat of the day the shady retreats beneath the trees are very frequently visited ; in the morning and
evening the sunny banks, the verandahs, and other exposed situations are more frequently resorted to.
The foregoing remarks are from personal observation o f the habits of IVochilus Colubris; and I have been
informed by Mr. Salvin and others that a similar action characterizes most of the species. I believe, however,
that those members o f the Trochilidse which are furnished with more ample wings, such as the species of the
genera Agleeactis, Ramphomicron, Pterophanes, and Patagona, have a very different mode of flight, move their
wings with diminished rapidity, and pass much more slowly through the air. Mr. Darwin, when speaking
o f the P atagona g ig a s , says, “ Like others of the family, it moves from place to place with a rapidity which
may be compared to that of Syrphus among Diptera, and Sphinx among Moths; but whilst hovering over a
flower it flaps its wings with a very slow and powerful movement, totally different from that vibratory one,
common to most of the species, which produces the humming noise. I never saw any other bird, where the
force o f its wings appeared (as in a butterfly) so powerful in proportion to the weight o f its body. When
hovering by a flower, its tail is constantly expanded and shut like a fan, the body being kept in a nearly
vertical position. This action appears to steady and support the bird, between the slow movements of its
wings.”
In the intervals o f flight, I believe that they not only rest, in the ordinary way, but even pass some time
in sleep; at least I found that this was the case with my living birds, and that from this state o f partial
torpor they were not easily aroused. In the morning and evening they were far more animated than at any
other period of the day; and they would even perform their buzzing evolutions round their cage, and sip
from their little bottle in the night-time, if a light was brought into the room. They usually sat in a moping
position, with the bill in a line with the body, or slightly elevated, after the manner of the Kingfishers. I
never saw them hang by their feet and sleep with their heads downwards—a position which I have been
informed is sometimes assumed by Humming-Birds.
When we have compared the wings o f Calliphlox amelhystinus with those of Patagona g ig a s , we have
noticed the two extremes o f development in these organs; but many intermediate forms exist, and each
modification has doubtless an influence on the mode and power o f flight. I cannot leave the subject of the