who has lived in the country and paid any attention to natural history, that does not recollect that o f the
Hedge-Accentor (Accentor modularis) with its beautiful blue e g g s ; or has'he ever ceased to wonder at the
surprising construction o f the nest of the Bottle-Tit (Mecistura caudata) ? their domestic architecture is
indeed among the most interesting o f the many singular features in the economy o f birds. And how truly
wonderful are some o f the nests o f the Humming-Birds! In form and size they vary as much as the different
structure of the birds would lead us to expect, and a similar difference occurs in the situations in which
they are placed. Some o f these cradles are not larger than the half o f a walnut-shell, and these coracleshaped
structure are among the neatest and most beautiful. The members o f the genus Trochtlus and
their allies expend the greatest ingenuity, not so much in their construction as in the lavish decoration
o f their outer walls; with the utmost taste do these birds instinctively fasten thereon beautiful pieces o f flat
lichen, the larger pieces in the middle, and the smaller on the part attached to the branch. It is a question
among ornithologists whether these adornments are fixed on by a glutinous secretion from the bird, or by
the invisible webs o f some of the smaller kinds o f spiders; my own belief is, that the latter is the means
employed. Now and then a pretty feather is intertwined or fastened to the outer side, the stem being
always so placed that the feather stands out beyond the surface. These little cup-shaped nests are frequently
placed on the bifurcation of the horizontal part o f a branch near the ground, and at other times higher up
towards the summit. Quite the reverse o f this kind o f nest are those built by the P haethornithes: these
latter are generally very frail structures, woven round and attached to the side o f a drooping palm-leaf, very
frequently overhanging water. Such a nest is figured in my plate o f P . Eurynome. Another, o f a similar
form, but o f different materials, is figured in the same volume, in the plate illustrative o f P . Eremita, with
two young ones therein.
Other Humming-Birds suspend their nests to the sides o f rocks. These are hammock-shaped in form,
and are most ingeniously attached to the face o f the rock by means o f spiders’ webs and the cottony materials
of which they are sometimes built. Those made by the Oreotrochili are very large, and composed o f wool,
llama hair, moss, and feathers; at the top o f this great mass, o f nearly the size o f a child’s head, is a little
cup-shaped depression in which the eggs are deposited. Respecting the nest made by the Oreotrochilus
Pichincha, my friend Professor Jameson, o f Quito, writes, “ On the first o f the present month (November
1858), I visited the snowy mountain o f Antisana in company with the American Minister. In the celebrated
Farm-house (about 13,500 feet above the sea) I found in one o f the lower or ground-apartments, unprovided
with a door, several nests o f Oreotrochilus Pichincha, one o f which was attached to a straw rope suspended
from the roof. I am quite certain as to the identity o f the species, having shot one o f the birds. The
rest will be sent to you in my next parcel.” See the figure o f this nest given by Dr. Sclater in the
‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society,’ 1860, p. 80.
Some of the Humming-Birds, and perhaps this very species, are said to suspend their great nests by the
middle from the fine hanging root of a tree, or a tendril; and should the nest, which is o f a curved form
and built of any coarse materials at hand, prove to be heavier on one side than the other, the higher side is
weighted with a small stone or square piece o f earth until an equilibrium is established and the eggs prevented
from rolling out. If such powers, so nearly approaching to that o f reason, should be doubted by some
of my readers, I can assure them that one or more of these loaded nests are contained in the Loddigesian
Collection; and one is at this moment before me, an examination o f which will satisfy the most sceptical of
the truth of this statement. Occasionally the old nests are repaired or built over the old one, two, three,' or
more years in succession. Many other instances might be given to show that the nidification of the
Humming-Birds is as singular, as are the birds themselves. I believe that generally the eggs are two in
number, but I also think it likely that some of the Phaethornithes, or rather the members of the genus
Glaucis, occasionally lay but on e ; for I have frequently seen -only a single young bird in the nests sent to
this country, and this single bird generally filled up the entire space o f the frail structure, which, as I have
before stated, is usually attached to the leaflet of a palm. The eggs are certainly large when we consider
the tiny size o f the birds which produce them; in shape they are oblong, nearly alike in form at both ends,
and are probably o f a pinkish hue before their contents are removed; after which they become of an opake
white, and so closely resemble bon-bons that they might easily be mistaken for them. The birds are said
to produce two broods a year; and the period of incubation generally occupies about twelve or fourteen, or,
according to Captain Lyon, eighteen days. This gentleman, when giving an account of some Humming.
Birds whose hatching and education he sedulously watched, as the nest was made in a little orange-bush by
the side o f a frequented walk in his garden at Gongo Soco, in Brazil, states that the nest “ was composed
of the silky down o f a plant, and covered with a small flat species o f yellow lichen. The first egg was laid
January 26th, the second on the 28th ; and two little creatures like bees made their appearance on the
morning of February 14th. As the young increased in size, the mother built her nest higher and higher.
The old bird sat very close during a continuance o f heavy rain for several days and nights. The young
remained blind until February 28th, and flew on the morning o f March 7th, without previous practice,
as strong and swiftly as the mother, taking their first dart from the nest to a tree about twenty yards
distant.” •
Let me now mention one of the devices employed for the discovery of the nest o f the Humming-Birds.
Every observer who has written upon them has not failed to descant upon their boldness and pugnacity.
Not only do they attack birds of much larger size than themselves, but it is even asserted that they will tilt
at the Eagle if he approaches within the precincts o f the n e st; nor is man exempt from their assaults, of
which an amusing instance will be found in the extract from Lady Emmeline Stuart Wortley’s ‘ Travels ’
given on a subsequent page.
It is this readiness for combat which is taken advantage o f to find the nest and e g g s ; and all that is
necessary is to tie a string to your hat, and wave it round your head, when, if a female be sitting in the
neighbourhood, the male will instantly come down upon you; and by watching his return, the nest may be
detected.
Many really absurd statements have been made as to the means by which these birds are obtained for our
cabinets. It is most frequently asserted that they are shot with water or with sand. Now, so far as I am aware,
these devices are never resorted to, but they are usually procured in the ordinary way, with numbers ten and
eleven shot, those being the sizes best suited for the purpose. If smaller shot be used, the plumage is very
frequently so cut and damaged that the specimen is rendered o f little or no value. By far the greater
number fall to the clay ball o f the blowpipe, which the Indians, and in some instances even Europeans use
with perfect certainty o f aim. My friend Professor Jameson has a son who appears to be a proficient in
this mode o f obtaining Humming-Birds, as I know that many of the specimens he has sent me have been
thus procured.
In Brazil very fine nets are employed for this purpose; but how these nets are used I am unable to state.
Unfortunately for me, many specimens of the fine species Comeles spargamrus in my possession have been
H