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>) Ss j ‘ 1 rKS i vi y t y c turalists
] : "he IG < > reg oine remal ks ro ide d he na

south (American Indians. If the country glanced at in the forego 5 C |

a L

ayes h \

their amazement and delight had exploration made them acquainted w : | ,
ntire country, from the Rocky Mountains on the north to neat

ith the hidden treasures of the great

Andean ranges, which stretch along the e

i this great back », as it we * America, at remark-
Cape Horn on the south. Along the whole line of this great backbone, as it were, of A1 ae

c \ 2 c y c ! 9 Cc are not
ib \ sl { S, 0 sp Ss { 5S ) ) t 2 st b wut Ll

only specifically but generically distinct from each other. Whole BEpups of them, oe a a
singularity, have become known to us from the inquiries and explorations of later TaN oes 5 and, unde

as the species may be towards the northern and southern portions of the prea! elger of ee ee
vastly increase as we approach the equator. These equatorial regions teem with shee? and even Bone
sahith are not found elsewhere. Between the snow-line of the summits of the towering volcanos and ae
bases, many zones of temperature occur, each of which has its own especial animal and repeal ne The
alpine region has its particular flora, accompanied by insects especially adapted to such situations ; and
attendant upon these are peculiar forms of Humming-Birds, which never descend to the hot ralehe an
scarcely even to the cooler and more temperate paramos. Many of the highest cones of extinct and of
existing volcanos have their own faunas and floras; even in the interior walls of ancient craters, wherever
vegetation has gained a footing, some species of Humming-Birds have there, and there only, been - yet
discovered. It is the exploration of such situations that has led to the acquisition of so many additional

species of this family of birds, which now reach to more than 400 in number.

It might be thought by some persons that 400 species of birds so diminutive in size, and of one family,
could scarcely be distinguished from each other; but any one who studies the subject will soon perceive
that such is not the case. Even the females, which assimilate more closely to each other than the males,
can be separated with perfect certainty ; nay, even a tail-feather will be sufficient for a person well-versed
in the subject to say to what genus and species the bird from which it has been taken belongs. I mention
this fact to show that what we designate a species has really distinctive and constant characters ; and in the
whole of my experience, with many thousands of Humming-Birds passing through my hands, I have never
observed an instance of any variation which would lead me to suppose that it was the result of a union of
two species. I write this without bias, one way or the other, as to the question of the origin of species.
[ am desirous of representing nature in her wonderful ways as she presents herself to my attention at the
close of my work, after a period of twelve years of incessant labour, and not less than twenty years of

interesting study. Iam, of course, here speaking of the special object of my own studies—the Humming-

Birds.

It is somewhat remarkable that any persons living in the present enlightened age should persist in asserting

that Humming-Birds are found in India and Africa. Yet there are many who believe that such is the case.
Even in a work but recently published, it is stated that Humming-Birds

last-mentioned country :

and Toucans are both found in the
and I was once brought into a rather stormy altercation with a

gentleman who
asserted that the Humming-Bird was found in ]

ingland, and that he had seen it fly in Devonshire. Now
the object seen in Devonshire was the insect called the Humming-Bird Moth

» Macroglossa stellarum ; and
the birds supposed to belong to this family by residents

and travellers in India and Africa are of a
totally different group—the Nectariniide or Sun-Birds.

ans : : :
These latter birds have no relationship to the
Trochilide ;

they are not even representatives of them in the countries alluded to; and their only points of

    
     
    
  
   
  
 
 
 
  
   
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
  
  
  
   
   
  
    

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