“To enumerate all the flowers of which this little bird is fond, moni be to repeat the fangs of half our
American flora. From the blossoms of the towering poplar Of CE DARee, P thousand intermediate
flowers, to those of the humble larkspur, He scl at will, and almost incessantly. Every period of the season
produces a fresh multitude of new favourites. Towards the month of September, a plant with 4 yellow

at luxuriance along the sides of creeks and rivers, and in low moist situations, to the
Cc é ic ?

 

flower grows in gre j , i
height of two or three feet, and the flower, which is about the size of a thimble, hangs in the shape of a cap

 

: E pes Pac is the samina noli me taneere of ATI arene
of liberty above a luxuriant growth of green leaves. It is the Balsa gere of botanists, and

In some places where these

HE . Bee she ‘ ; r flowers.
TH the greatest favourite of the Humming-bird of all our othe plants

TH abound, you may see, at one time, ten or twelve Humming-birds darting about, and fighting with and pur-
suing each other. About the 20th of September they oy retire to the south. I have, indeed, ce
ames seen a solitary individual on the 28th and 30th of that month, and sometimes even jn October, but
these cases are rare. About the beginning of November they pass the southern boundary of the Unita
States into Florida.”

«No sooner,” says Audubon, “has the returning sun again introduced the vernal Season, and caused
inillions of plants to expand their leaves and blossoms to his genial beams, than the little Humming-bird :
seen advancing on fairy wings, carefully visiting every flower-cup, and, like a curious florist, removing from
each the injurious insects that otherwise would, ere long, cause their beauteous petals to droop and decay,
Poised in the air, it is observed peeping cautiously and with sparkling eye into their innermost recesses, whilst
the ethereal motions of its pinions, so rapid and so light, appear to fan and cool the flower without injuring

| its fragile texture, and produce a delightful murmuring sound, well adapted for lulling the insects to repose.

This is the moment for the Humming-bird to secure them. Its long delicate bill enters the cup of the

| flower, and the protruded double tongue, delicately sensible, and imbued with a elutinous saliva, touches
each insect in succession, and draws it from its lurking place, to be instantly swallowed. All this is done

in a moment, and the bird, as it leaves the flower, sips so small a portion of its liquid honey, that the theft,

we may suppose, is looked upon with a grateful feeling by the flower, which is thus kindly relieved from the

attacks of her destroyers.

“The prairies, the fields, the orchards and gardens, nay, the deepest shades of the forest, are all vise

 

in their turn, and everywhere the little bird meets with pleasure and with food. Its gorgeous throat in
beauty and brilliancy baffles all competition. Now it glows with a fiery hue, and again it is changed to the
deepest velvet-black. The upper parts of its delicate body are of resplendent changing green; and it throws
itself through the air with a swiftness and vivacity hardly conceivable. It moves from one flower to another
like a gleam of light, upwards, downwards, to the right, and to the left.”

When speaking of their migrations, Audubon states that « they pass through the air in long undulations,
raising themselves for some distance at an angle of about 40°, and then falling in a curve ; but the smallness
of their size precludes the possibility of following them farther than fifty or sixty yards without great diffi-
culty, even with a good glass... . They do not alight on the ground, but easily settle on twigs and branches,
where they move sideways in prettily measured steps, frequently opening and closing their wings, pluming,
shaking, and arranging the whole of their apparel with neatness and activity. Thev are particularly fond of
spreading one wing at a time, and passing each of the quill-feathers through their bill in its whole length,
when, if the sun be shining, the wing thus plumed is rendered extremely transparent and light. They
ae the twig without the least difficulty in an instant, and appear to be possessed of superior powers of

vision, Haus directly towards a Martin or Blue-bird when fifty or sixty yards from them, before they are
aware of their approach .... Their food consists principally of insects, generally of the coleopterous order,
these, together with some equally diminutive flies, beg commonly found in their stomachs. ‘The first are
procured within the flowers, but many of the latter on wing.”

The male has the whole of the back, upper part of the neck, flanks, tail-coverts and two middle tail-

feathers of a rich golden green: wings ; as ; 5 aoe
gs green; wings and tail purplish brown ; under surface of the body white tinged

with green: throat ruby-r Se oh ae ape eo
: g i ; throat uy red, changing, according to the position in which it is viewed, from deep black to
ery crimson or burning orange ; bill, eyes, legs and feet black

The female resembles the male j a a ;
ale in her general plumage, but is destitute of any brilliancy on the throat,

and has the tail tipped with white.

The young birds of both s i ;
} g exes during the first ceac as oo : ‘ at ae
g the first season have the tail tipped with white, and the whole of

the under surface dull whi : ne al fi
t fi hite. The ornamental feathers on the throat of the young males begin to appear
in the month of September (W ilson). see: , :

The figures represent the two sexes of the size of life

OY NE A I Ne