Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 10.djvu/24

LEFT TROCHILIDiE 8 stretching- through an apparently im- passable jungle for 50 miles bordered by fallen trees and a maze of barbed wire. Through the center of the clear- ing ran a single-track military railroad, and on one side of that a line of forts. TROCHILID^, the humming birds, a family of insessorial birds, containing above 300 species, divided into about 75 genera or subgenera. The trochilidae include some of the smallest known birds, many of which are remarkable for the wonderful splendor of their plumage. In this one respect alone, neither pen nor pencil could convey any adequate idea of their dazzling luster. They are active little birds, and from the structure of their frames, it is apparent that they were intended to pass most of their time on the wing. Their food consists of small insects, and perhaps the nectareous juices of flowers, which their tongue is beautifully fashioned for obtaining. This organ is very long, and can be darted out of the bill to a considerable length, by a sudden motion like that of a spring. Their feet are small, generally dark- colored. Their wings are very long and narrow, and they are, by means of the rapid motion given to them, able to balance themselves in the air, hover- ing round flowering shrubs and plants, probing their tubular nectaries, and at the same time emitting a pretty loud humming noise, caused by the concussion of their wings with the air; whence their English name "humming birds." The trochilidae are very pug- nacious little creatures, and defend their nests with the greatest courage against all intruders, even man himself. They are natives of America, and are found from one extent of the continent to the other, thon<;h in greatest numbers in the tropical parts, in the deltas, and along the banks of the great rivers both of the North and South. Mellisuga hiLmilis, a species peculiar to the West Indies, has a very sweet note, and is perhaps the only species of the family that has a real song. The male bird of this variety is about 2% inches in length, and is exactly like a bumblebee when darting about in the air. The nests of the humming birds are wonderfully made, with cotton, wool and twigs, beautifully interwoven with feathers, and lined with down, and almost all the species lay two eggs, which in some cases are extraordinarily small. ^ The smallest species of all is the Mellisuga minima, which is only about one inch and a quarter in length, and which weighs but 20 grains. TROCHILUS, in ornithology: (1) The type genus of Trochilidse. Tail- TROGLODYTES feathers pointed, wings short; plumage not very brilliant, except on the throat. Two species are known — T. colubris, in- habiting North America during the sum- mer, and migrating in winter to Central America and the West India islands; and T. alexandri from California and Mexico. (2) Cliaradriiis mehxnoceplmlus, a native of Egypt. It is about 10 inches long; general hue slate color; abdomen and neck white, head black, with two white stripes running from the bill, and meet- ing at the nape of the neck, black man- tle extending over the shoulders to the tail, wings black, with a broad trans- verse black band. TROCHTJ (tr5-shu'), LOUIS JULES, a French military officer; born in Le Palais, France, March 12, 1815; was educated at St. Cyr; engaged in the Al- gerian, Crimean and Italian campaigns published a pamphlet entitled "The French Army in 1867," and showed the weakness of the French army, by which he forfeited the favor of Napoleon. At the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War (1870), however, he was made Governor of Paris, and when the republic was proclaimed he was intrusted with the defense of the city, a position which he held till the capitulation. He was elected to the National Assembly in 1871 and retired to private life in 1873. He wrote: "For Truth and Justice" (1873); "Politics and the Siege of Paris," and "The French Army in 1879." He died Oct. 7, 1896. TRCEZEN, a very ancient Greek city, capital of the S. E. district of Argolis. It was the birthplace of Theseus (q. v,). TROGLODYTE. See Cave DWELLERS. TROGLODYTES, in ornithology, the wren; a genus of Troglodytidae or Trog- lodytinse, from the Neotropical, Nearc- tic and Palsearctic regions. Bill rnoder- ate, compressed, slightly curved, without notch, pointed; nostrils basal, oval, partly covered by a membrane; wings very short, concave, rounded; tail gener- ally short; feet strong, middle toe united at the base to outer, but not to middle toe; tarsus rather long; claws long, stout, and carved. In zoology a genus of Simiinx. Head not produced vertically; arms not reach- ing more than half down the shin; ribs 13 pairs; os inter-medium absent from the carpus; no ischiatic callosities; hair black, dun, or gray. The genus is con- fined to the west African sub-region, ranging from the coast about 12° N, and S. of the equator, from the Gambia to Benguela, and as far inland as the great equatorial forests extend. The number of species is not accurately determined;