wings without alluding to the extraordinary development of the shafts o f the primaries in the Campylopteri.
The great dilatation o f these feathers would lead one to suppose that they have an influence on the aerial
movements o f the birds; but, strange to say, this remarkable feature only occurs in the males; the females
being entirely destitute o f it. It might naturally be supposed that such a modification o f so important an
organ must be formed with an especial object. What, then, can be the particular use o f the broad dilated
shafts o f these singularly and apparently awkwardly shaped wings ? Generally the primaries and secondaries
are o f a sombre and uniform hue, while the shoulders or wing-coverts, in most instances, are o f the same
colour as the other parts o f the body. There are, however, a few, but a very few exceptions to the rule;
and I may mention the Eulampis ju gu la ris and Pterophanes Temmincki as instances in point: both these birds
have luminous wings, and must form very striking objects during flight; and, as I believe colour is seldom
given without the intention o f its being exhibited, there is doubtless something peculiar in the economy of
these birds. The primaries and secondaries are in some instances stiff and rigid, while in others they are
soft and yielding: some are broad, others narrow; they are always the same in number; and the first quill
is constantly the longest, except in Aithurus polytmus, where the second exceeds the first in length.
When we turn to the bill, we find this organ to be greatly diversified in form, and that each o f these
variations appears to be specially adapted for some given purpose; indeed, I have never seen the law of
adaptation more beautifully exemplified than in the multiplied forms exhibited in the bills o f the members of
the various genera o f this family o f birds. A certain generic character runs through the whole o f
theme the,gape in all cases is very small; and whether the bill be curved or straight, the upper mandible
overlaps the under one on both sides, and thus forms an admirable protection for the delicate double-tubed
tongue. If we examine the extraordinarily lengthened bill o f Docimastes ensiferus and the short feeble bill
of the Lesbia Gouldi, we see the extremes as regards the length o f this organ; and we are not less astonished
at the functions they are both intended to perform. The bill o f the D . ensifer, which is more than five
inches long, and which contains a tongue capable o f being protruded nearly as far beyond its tip, is most
admirably fitted for the exploration o f the lengthened and pendent corollas o f the B ru gm a n s ia ; while the
short-billed L e sb ia cling to the upper portion o f those flowers, pierce their bases, and with the delicate
feelers at the extremities o f the tongue, readily secure the insects which there abound. I have been
assured by M. Bourcier that this is really a practice o f the bird, and that it frequently resorts to this device
for the purpose o f gaining its insect food ; but I suspect that, besides exploring the stalwart Brugman sia, a
more delicate flora is the object for which its bill is especially formed. In no part o f America are there so
many tubular-flowered plants as among the A ndes; and the greater number o f the Humming-Birds found there
have straight and lengthened bills, such as the members o f the genera Helianthea, Bourcieria, Ceeligena, etc.
The arched bills o f the Phaéthornithes are admirably adapted for securing the insects which resort to the
leaves o f trees, and upon which these birds are said to exist. But how much are we astonished when we
examine the bill o f E u to x e re s! and find this organ curved downwards beyond the extent o f a semicircle, a
form beautifully adapted for exploring the scale-covered stems of the larger palms.
Let us turn to another genus o f this group— Grypus. Here the bill is not only armed with a strong
hook at the end of the mandibles, but with a row o f numerous and thickly set teeth. The G. nacius is
said to frequent the borders o f the great forests, and to gain its food from among the interstices o f the
bark of the palm trees. Both this bird and the Eutoxeres, as well as the Phaéthornithes, are said (and, I
believe, with truth) to feed principally upon spiders; and we know that these are the food o f the Grypus.
All the members of the genus Ramphomicron are said to feed on insects which inhabit the alpine Florae;
and their bill is well suited to the capture of the minute insects found in those elevated regions. In some
instances the bill is perfectly wedge-shaped, as in H eliothrix; while in others it suddenly turns upwards, as
in Avocettula. These forms are also adapted for some special purpose, o f which, however, at present we
are ignorant. Besides these, there aré others whose bills approach somewhat to the form of the Flycatchers,
as the Aithurus. - This bird, we know, frequently seizes insects on the wing; and so doubtless do many of the
others. It will have been seen that all these forms of bill are well suited for the capture o f insects ; and,
as might be supposed, insects constitute the principal food of the Humming-Bird; but that liquid honey,
the pollen, and other saccharine parts o f flowers are also partaken of, is evident from the double tubular
tongue with which all the species are provided. Besides this, they readily and greedily accept this kind of
food when offered to them in a state of captivity, or when the corollas of a bouquet of flowers placed in a
window are filled with sugar to entice them to approach; and from my own experience I know that they
have been kept in captivity for several months upon this kind of food.
Connected intimately with the mode o f flight is the form and structure 01 the ta il; and in no group of
birds is this organ more varied; in some species it is four times the length of the body, in others it is so
extremely short as to be entirely hidden by the coverts. As cases in point I may mention Lesbia Amaryllis
and Calothorax micrurus. Every Humming-Bird, however, has ten tail-feathers, and no more. I am aware
that this number is not apparent in some of the smaller fork-tailed species, the two centre-feathers being so
exceedingly minute as to be almost obsolete; but if a careful examination be made, that number will be
found. I may instance Thaumastura C ora, Doricha enicura, and M yrtis Fannia.
The tail appears to be, and doubtless is, a very important organ in all the aerial movements of the
Trochilidm ; and accordingly we find very great variations in its form among the many different genera of
which the family is composed. In Cometes and Lesbia, the forked character is carried to its maximum, while
its minimum is seen in Calothorax, Acestntra, and the allied groups. The tails of all the members o f the two
former and many other genera are of this form; while in others it is only seen in a single species of a
group, all the other members of which have rounded, square, or cuneate tails. As a case in point I may
cite Eupetomena macroura, among the Campylopteri, which may be regarded as the aérial type of-its own
particular group. Next to this we may notice the species with feathers terminating in spatules, such as
Loddigesia, Sp a t hura, etc. I was informed by the late Mr. Dyson that the flight of these birds presents a
marked difference from that o f other Humming-Birds, and that their appearance in the air is most singular,—
the tail being not only constantly opened and shut, but the spatules always in motion, particularly when the
bird is poising over a flower; and if this be really true, what an extraordinary appearance must the Loddi-
gesia mirabilis present during its evolutions! But we cannot attempt to describe i t ; the discovery o f a second
example, and the peculiarity o f its flight, must be left for future historians to make known to us.
In some f e w instances, such as Juliamyia typica and Sphenoproctus Pampa, the tails are cuneate; but this
form is quite exceptional, if we exclude the Phaéthornithes and Eutoxeres, va which this is the prevailing form.
Besides the groups with forked or cuneate tails, there are others in which this organ is square or rounded,
as in the F lo risu g a and Metallura. The reverse of the spatulate form occurs in some species, such as the
members of the genus Gouldia, in which the tip of the outer tail-feathers terminates in thread-like filaments.
The citation o f o n e more will be sufficient to show bow widely different is the form o f this organ among