Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/371

359 HUMMING-BIRD 359 and so to indigo and bottle-green. But this part of the Humming bird is subject to quite as much modification in form as in colour, though always consisting of ten rectriccs. It may be nearly square, or at least but slightly rounded, or wedge-shaped with the middle quills prolonged beyond the rest; or, again, it may be deeply forked, sometimes by the overgrowth of one or more of the intermediate pairs, but most generally by the development of the outer pair. In the last case the lateral feathers may be either broadly webbed to their tip, or acuminate, or again, in some forms, may lessen to the filiform shaft, and suddenly enlarge into a terminal spatulation as in the forms known as &quot; Racquet-tails.&quot; The wings do not offer so much variation; still there are a few groups in which diversities occur that require notice. The primaries are invariably ten in number, the outermost being the longest, except in the single instance of Aithurus, where it is shorter than the next. The group known as &quot;Sabre- wings,&quot; comprising the genera Campijloptcrus, Eupetomena, and Sphenoproctus, present a most curious sexual peculiarity, for while the female has nothing remarkable in the form of the wing, in the male the shaft of two or three of the outer primaries is dilated proximally, and bowed near the middle in a manner almost unique among birds. The feet again, diminutive as they are, are very diversified in form. In most the tarsus is bare, but in some groups, as Eriocnemis, it is clothed with tufts of the most delicate down, sometimes black, sometimes buff, but more often of a snowy whiteness. In some the toes are weak, nearly equal in length, and furnished with small rounded nails ; in others they are largely developed, and armed with long and sharp claws. Apart from the well-known brilliancy of plumage, of which enough has been here said, many Humming-birds display a large amount of ornamentation in the addition to their attire of crests of various shape and size, elongated ear-tufts, projecting neck-frills, arid pendant beards forked or forming a single point. But it would be impossible here to dwell on a tenth of these beautiful modifications, each of which as it comes to our knowledge excites fresh surprise and exemplifies the ancient adage maxime miranda in minimis Natura. It must be remarked, however, that there are certain forms which possess little or no brilliant colouring at all, but, as most tropical birds go, are very soberly clad. These are known to trochilidists as Hermits,&quot; and by Mr Gould have been separated as a Subfamily under the name of Phacthornithma;, though Mr Elliot says he cannot find any characters to distinguish it from the Trochilidce proper. But sight is not the only sense that is affected by Humming-birds. The large species known as Ptero- phancs temmincki has a strong musky odour, very similar to that given off by the Petrels, though, so far as appears to be known, th.it is the only one of them that possesses this property. 1 All well-informed people are aware that the Trochilidce are a Family peculiar to America and its islands, but one of the com monest of common errors is the belief that Humming-birds are found in Africa and India to say nothing even of England. In the first two cases the mistake arises from confounding them with some of the brightly-coloured Sun-birds (Nectar iniidce), to which British colonists or residents are apt to apply the better-known name ; but in the last it can be only due to the want of perception which dis ables the observer from distinguishing between a bird and an insect the object seen being a Hawk-Moth (Macroglossa), whose mode of feeding and rapid flight certainly bears some resemblance to that of the Trochilidce, and hence one of the species (J/. stellarum) is very generally called the &quot;Humming-bird Hawk-Moth.&quot; But though confined to the New World the Trochilidce pervade almost every part of it. In the south Eustephanus galcritus has been seen flitting about the fuchsias of Ticrra del Fuego in a snow-storm, and in the north-west Sclatophorus riifus in summer visits the ribes- blossoms of Sitka, while in the north-east Trochilus colubris charms the vision of Canadians as it poises itself over the althaea-bushes in their gardens, and extends its range at least so far as lat. 57 N. Nor is the distribution of Humming-birds limited to a horizontal direction only, it rises also vertically. Orcotrochilus chimborazo and 0. pichincha live on the lofty mountains whence each takes its trivial name, but just beneath the line of perpetual snow, at an elevation of some 16,000 feet, dwelling in a world of almost constant hail, sleet, and rain, and feeding on the insects which resort to the indigenous flowering plants, while other peaks, only inferior to these in height, are no less frequented by one or more species. Peru and Bolivia produce some of the most splendid of the Family the genera Cometes, JJiphlogcctia, and Thaumastura, whose very names indicate the glories of their bearers. The comparatively gigantic Patagona inhabits the west coast of South America, while the isolated rocks of Juan Fernandez not only afford a home to the Eustephamts before mentioned, but also to two other species of the same genus which are not found elsewhere (see BIRDS, vol. iii. p. 745). The slopes 1 The specific name of a species of Chnjfolnmpis, commonly written by many writers mnxcttitus, would lc;id to the belief that it was a mistake for iiioxchatu*, i.e., &quot; musky,&quot; but in truth it originates with their carelessness, for though they quote Unnseus as their authority they can never have referred to his works, or thi-y would have found the word to be mosqiii/us, the --mosquito&quot; of Oviedo, awkwardly, it Is true, Latinized. If emendation be needed, muscatut, after QiMQur a example, Is undoubtedly preferable. of the Northern Andes and the hill country of Colombia furnish perhaps the greatest number of forms, and some of the most beauti ful, but leaving that great range, we part company with the largest and most gorgeously arrayed species, and their number dwindles as we approach the eastern coast. Still there are many brilliant Hum ming-birds common enough in the Brazils, Guiana, and Venezuela. The Chrysolampis mosquttus is perhaps the most plentiful. Thou sands of its skins are annually sent to Europe to be used in the manufacture of ornaments, its rich mby-and- topaz glow rendering it one of the most beautiful objects imaginable. In the darkest depths of the Brazilian forests dwell the russet-clothed brotherhood of the genus Phaetliornis the &quot; Hermits &quot;; but the great wooded basin of the Amazons seems to be particularly unfavourable to the Trochilida;, and from Para to Ega there are scarcely a dozen species to be met with. There is no island of the Antilles but is inhabited by one or more Humming-birds, and there are some very remark able singularities of geographical distribution to be found (see BIRDS, vol. iii. p. 749). Northwards from Panama, the highlands present many genera, whose names it would be useless here to insert, few or none of which are found in South America though that must unquestionably be deemed the metropolis of the Family, and advancing towards Mexico the numbers gradually fall off. Eleven species have been enrolled among the fauna of the United States, but some on slender evidence, while others only just cross the frontier line. FIG. l.Mdlisuga minima on nest, natural size. (After Gosse.) But little room is left to speak of the habits of Humming-birds, which is perhaps of the less consequence since the subject, as regards most of the species which in life have come under the observation of ornithologists, has been so ably treated by writers like Waterton, Wilson, and Audubon, to say nothing of Mr Gosse, Mr Wallace, Mi- Bates, and some others, while, whatever novelty further investigation may supply, it is certain that at present we lack information that will explain the origin or the function of the many modifications of external structure of which mention has been made. But there is no one appreciative of the beauties of nature who will not recall to memory with delight the time when a live Humming-bird first met his gaze. The suddenness of the apparition, even when expected, and its brief duration, are alone enough to fix the fluttering vision on the mind s eye. The wings of the bird, if flying, are only visible as a thin grey film, bounded above and below by fine black threads, in form of aSt Andrew s cross, the effect on the observer s retina of the instantaneous reversal of the motion of the wing at each beat the strokes being so rapid as to leave no more distinct image. Consequently an adequate representation of the bird on the wing cannot be produced by the draughtsman. Humming-birds show to the greatest ad vantage when engaged in contest with another, for rival cocks fight fiercely, and, as may be expected, it is then that their plumage flashes with the most glowing tints. But these are quite invisible to the ordinary spectator except when very near at hand, though doubtless efficient enough for their object, whether that be to inflame their mate or to irritate or daunt their opponent, or something that we cannot compass. Humming-birds, however, will also often sit still for a while, chiefly in an exposed position, on a dead twig, occasionally darting into the air, either to catch a passing insect or to encounter an adversary ; and so pugnacious are