Genus Icterus. Brisson, Orn., II. p. 85. (1760.)
Icterus melanocephalus. (Wagler.)
Psaracolius melanocephalus. Wagler, Isis, 1829, p. 756.
Icterus Audubonii. Giraud. New species N. A. Birds, p. 1. (1841.)
Form. Rather robust; bill strong, high at base; wings rather short;
third and fourth quills longest; tail graduated; central feathers
longest; legs and feet large and strong.
Dimensions. Total length of skin, from tip of bill to end of tail, 8¾
inches; wing, 4; tail, 4¼ inches.
Colors. Head black, which color has a semicircular termination on the
breast. Entire under parts and neck behind, bright yellow; back and rump
yellowish-green; wings black; quills edged externally with ashy white;
tail black; bill bluish-black, lighter at the base of the lower
mandible; tarsi and feet lead-colored; irides brown. Sexes nearly alike;
female with the yellow parts of the plumage less vivid, and the tail in
some specimens edged and tinged with greenish.
Hab. Texas, Mexico. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.; and Nat. Mus.,
Washington city.
Obs. This bird resembles no other in any considerable degree; and is,
therefore, to be easily distinguished. It seems to belong to some one of
the subdivisions of the old genus _Icterus_, or of _Xanthornus_, which
are so variously and confusedly given by professed systematists, that we
have no faith in any of them; which declaration, by the way, we have no
objection to embrace the present opportunity of extending to late
_opinionative_ classifications, in a manner rather general and
comprehensive. It is about full time for a true zoologist to appear, who
shall be capable of systematizing—of reducing to order and symmetry the
vast fund of facts and detached knowledge in natural history, which the
present age has accumulated. In our happier day-dreams, we have deemed
it inevitable that such a one must shortly appear. The great Anglo-Saxon
zoologist is yet to come.
[Illustration: Plate 22
The Purple-throated Humming Bird
Trochilus Alexandri (_Bourcier_)]
TROCHILUS ALEXANDRI.—Bourcier and Mulsant.
The Purple-throated Humming Bird.
PLATE XXII.—Adult Males.
The Humming Birds are peculiar to America. Until within a comparatively
recent period, about one hundred species were known to naturalists,—that
being the then considered large number enumerated in works published as
lately as within about twenty years. Discoveries of previously unknown
species in this family of birds have been numerous beyond precedent or
comparison with any other, notwithstanding the zeal and ability which
ornithology has commanded within the period mentioned. At present, there
are nearly three hundred ascertained species of Humming Birds. The large
and recent additions have resulted, in a great measure, from the
exploration of regions previously little visited or inaccessible,
principally in the northern part of South America, but also in Central
America and Mexico.
That portion of the continent of America between the Amazon as a
southern boundary, and the Rio Grande and Gila as a northern, embracing
New Grenada and Guiana, the whole of Central America and Mexico, to
which may be added the West India Islands, appears to be the most
productive of Humming Birds. Within that range, but especially in the
Republic of New Grenada, these splendid little birds are much the most
abundant, and it embraces nearly all of the most remarkable in form and
most beautiful in plumage. Southward into Brazil and Peru, and other
countries of South America, a considerable variety of species are also
found; but, in the north, that is to say, north of the line between
Mexico and the United States, we have few species of Humming Birds, and
even those give us but an imperfect idea of the gorgeous tints of their
relatives of the tropical regions of this continent.
Of the natural productions of America, these birds have attracted the
most universal admiration. Nor has it been, by any means, without
foundation. Nature appears to have exhausted herself in the lavish
profusion of colors of every tint and shade with which she has adorned
these gems of the animal world. They are the most splendidly colored and
at the same time the most diminutive of birds. Almost every color known
in art is to be met with in the plumage of some one or other of the
Humming Birds, and usually with a lustre more resembling that of the
most highly finished workmanship in metal, or of the most exquisite
precious stones, than the transient or easily destroyed appendages of a
delicate animal organization.
There are, however, some species which are quite plain in their
appearance, and present little or no trace of metallic or other
brilliant colors. Of these, one large species is perfectly black; others
are reddish-brown, or fulvous and plain dark green.
In size, the Humming Birds vary much. The Giant Humming Bird of Brazil,
which is the largest, though one of the plainest, is about the size of
the Chimney Bird of the United States, and several fine species of the
later discoveries in this group are but little smaller. Several species
are quite as large as the House Wren. On the other hand, there are
Humming Birds little larger than the Humble Bee of our meadows; and
there are many species of Beetles and other coleopterous insects, that
are much larger. The common ruby-throated Humming Bird of the United
States, is a medium-sized species, and of respectable dimensions when
compared with some of his pigmy brethren of the far South.
In form, too, they vary exceedingly. Some are very slender, and
apparently feebly constituted; others are comparatively quite robust.
There are species which have bills excessively long, the _Sword-bearer_
(_Trochilus ensiferus_), which is about the size of the House Wren, has
a bill longer than its body. So entirely disproportionate does the bill
of this species appear to be, that few persons, on seeing specimens for
the first time, can avoid a suspicion that it has been artificially
lengthened; and we have more than once heard it suggested on such an
occasion that this remarkable appendage could readily have been drawn
out by processes used by comb-makers. This exceedingly long bill is,
however, no inconvenience whatever to the gay little individual who is
responsible for it, luckily for him;—in fact, it assists him admirably
in procuring an entirely honest subsistence amongst the large
trumpet-flowers, and others with long tubular corollas, abundant in
tropical countries. No other known species has this organ of a length so
disproportionate, though there are several in which it is unusually long
for birds of such size. The bill is, however, scarcely of the same form
and shape in any two species. In some, it is perfectly straight and very
short; in others, as we have already observed, it is very long. Numerous
others have the bill curved downwards, or scythe-shaped, and a few
species have it turned upwards, presenting a very singular appearance.
Other curious appendages are to be met with in species of this family.
One group has exceedingly long tails, three or four times the length of
the body. Several Humming Birds have the outer feathers of the tail
long, and though narrow for the greater part of their length, suddenly
expanded at the end like a paddle or a spoon. These seem to form a group
or sub-genus of their own, and are also remarkable for having the upper
part of the leg (the _tibia_, and sometimes part of the _tarsus_)
covered with a thick mass of white downy feathers, presenting one of the
many instances of phenomena to which it appears almost impossible in the
present state of our knowledge, to assign a use in the economy of the
species. The wings in all Humming Birds are large, when compared with
those of many other birds, and are formed for long-continued and rapid
flight.
The food of the Humming Birds is now well ascertained to be principally
insects. We regard the conclusion, also, as unavoidable, that the
moisture contained in flowers is their drink only, and not capable alone
of supporting life. The tongue appears to be the principal organ used
both in capturing insects and in procuring the fluid portion of their
subsistence, and is constructed in a manner peculiarly adapted to these
purposes. It is long, and composed of two parallel tubes (like a
double-barrelled gun), furnished with the necessary apparatus of muscles
for sucking, and thus enabling the bird to reach the drops of moisture
or the fluid secretions contained very frequently in the corollas of
flowers, more abundant in some species than others. The tongue is
flattened, and sometimes barbed towards the end, or margined with
fringe-like appendages, evidently designed to be of material service in
feeding on minute flies or other small and soft insects. It admits, too,
of being darted outwards, like that of the woodpeckers, and in the
manner thus indicated it is very probable that their food is secured.
A large space on the throat is generally the most beautiful part of the
plumage of the birds of this family. Frequently, however, the top of the
head and the entire under parts of the body are clothed in colors of the
most surpassing brilliancy. The upper parts are usually plainer.
In the countries where these birds are most abundant, and even in others
of South America, some species of Humming Birds are spread over a vast
extent of territory;—other species are well known to be peculiar to
quite restricted localities. Many inhabit only the warmest
districts;—others are found only in mountain-valleys, thousands of feet
above the level of the sea. One of the most beautiful Humming Birds, the
Polytmus (_Trochilus polytmus_), a large species, having the plumage
mainly of a most exquisite green, with the top of the head jet black,
and with the tail excessively long, inhabits only the island of Jamaica,
and it is quite probable that every island of the West Indies produces
species which are to be found in no other. In some sections, they are
exceedingly numerous. Mr. Gosse, in his valuable volume on the Birds of
Jamaica, mentions having seen “no less than a hundred come successively
to rifle the blossoms within the space of half as many yards in the
course of a forenoon.” We have been informed of instances of the
ruby-topaz Humming Bird (_T. moschitus_) having occurred in the island
of Trinidad in even greater abundance.
In allusion to the general abundance of these birds in the countries
where they abound, and as a sketch of their habits, we transcribe the
following from “A Voyage up the Amazon,” from an excellent observer and
agreeable writer, our friend, Mr William H. Edwards, of New York:
“Wherever a creeping vine opens its fragrant clusters, or wherever a
tree-flower blooms, may these little birds be seen. In the garden, or in
the woods, over the water, everywhere, they are darting about;—of all
sizes, from one that might easily be mistaken for a different variety of
bird, to the tiny Hermit (_Trochilus rufigaster_), whose body is not
half the size of the bees buzzing about the same sweets. Sometimes they
are seen chasing each other in sport with a rapidity of flight and
intricacy of path the eye is puzzled to follow. Again circling round and
round, they rise high in mid-air, then dart off like light to some
distant attraction. Perched upon a little limb, they smooth their plumes
and seem to delight in their dazzling hues; then starting off leisurely,
they skim along, stopping capriciously to kiss the coquetting flowerets.
Often, two meet in mid-air and fight furiously, their crests and the
feathers on their throats all erected and blazing, and altogether
pictures of the most violent rage. Several times we saw them battling
with large black bees, who frequent the same flowers, and may be
supposed to interfere often provokingly. Like lightning, our little
heroes would come down, but the coat of shining mail would ward of their
furious strokes. Again and again would they renew the attack, until
their anger had expended itself by its own fury, or until the apathetic
bee, once roused, had put forth powers that drove the invader from the
field.”
The Mexican Humming Birds have been, until recently, but little attended
to, and even at this time are by no means well known. In an interesting
volume by Mr. William Bullock, a Fellow of the Linnean Society of
London, “Six Months Residence and Travels in Mexico” (London, 1824), a
work that contains much information on the natural history, and
especially the ornithology, of that country, there is a chapter
exclusively devoted to the Humming Birds. From it, we make the following
extract, which may be regarded as the more interesting, as some of the
species alluded to may be found hereafter in those parts of the United
States contiguous to Mexico:
“In Mexico, the species of Humming Birds are numerous. Near the capital,
on my arrival, scarcely one was to be seen; but in the month of May and
June, numbers were found in the Botanic Garden, in the centre of the
city; and, by offering a reward to the Indians, many were brought to me
alive. I had nearly seventy in cages, which, with attention and care, I
kept living for some weeks; and could I have devoted my whole attention
to them, I have no doubt of the possibility of bringing them alive to
Europe.
“It is probable the whole of them feed on insects; numbers I am certain
do so, having watched them attentively in the Botanic Garden at Mexico,
in pursuit of their minute prey; and in the yard of the house in which I
resided at Themascaltepec, where one of them took entire possession of a
pomegranate tree in blossom, on which he sat the whole day, catching the
small flies that came to the flowers.
“Although, like the Robin and other birds of Europe, in a state of
nature, they are extremely tenacious of any intrusion of their own
species on their dominions, yet, in captivity, when several kinds have
been confined together, I never observed the least inclination to
quarrel, but have seen the smaller take what appeared to be
unwarrantable liberties with those of five times their size and
strength;—thus, when the perch has been occupied by the great
blue-throated one, the diminutive Mexican Star has settled on the long
beak of the former, and remained perched on it some minutes, without its
offering to resist the insult.
“Europeans who have seen only the stuffed remains of these little
feathered gems in museums, have been charmed with their beautiful
appearance; but those who have examined them whilst living, displaying
their moving crests, throats, and tails, like the peacock in the sun,
can never look with pleasure on their mutilated forms. I have carefully
preserved about two hundred specimens, in the best possible manner, yet
they are still but the shadow of what they were in life. The reason is
obvious; for the sides of the laminæ, or fibres of each feather, being
of a different color from the surface, will change when seen in a front
or oblique direction; and as each lamina or fibre turns upon the axis of
the quill, the least motion, when living, causes the feathers to change
suddenly to the most opposite hues. Thus the one from Nootka Sound (_T.
rufus_) changes its expanded throat from the most vivid fire color to
light green; the topaz-throated does the same, and the Mexican Star
changes from bright crimson to blue.
“The sexes vary greatly in the plumage in many species, so much so, that
it is with difficulty we recognize them. The male and female of the
Mexican Star (_Cynanthus Lucifer_) could not have been known had they
not been seen constantly together, and proved to be so by dissection.
They breed in Mexico in June and July, and the nest is a beautiful
specimen of the architectural talent of these birds; it is neatly
constructed with cotton or the down of thistles, to which is fastened on
the outside, by some glutinous substance, a white flat lichen resembling
ours. The female lays two eggs, perfectly white, and large for the size
of the bird, and the Indians informed me they were hatched in three
weeks, by the male and female sitting alternately. When attending their
young, they attack any bird indiscriminately that approaches the nest.
Their motions, when under the influence of anger or fear, are very
violent, and their flight rapid as an arrow; the eye cannot follow them,
but the shrill, piercing shriek which they utter on the wing, may be
heard when the bird is invisible, and often led to their destruction by
preparing me for their approach. They attack the eyes of the larger
birds, and their sharp needle-like bill is a truly formidable weapon in
this kind of warfare.
“Nothing can exceed their fierceness when one of their own species
invades their territory during the breeding season. Under the influence
of jealousy, they become perfect furies; their throats swell, their
crests, tails, and wings, expand; they fight in the air (uttering a
shrill noise), till one falls exhausted to the ground. I witnessed a
combat of this kind near Otumba, during a heavy fall of rain, every
separate drop of which I supposed sufficient to have beaten the puny
warriors to the earth.
“In sleeping, they frequently suspend themselves by the feet, with their
heads downwards, in the manner of some parrots.
“These birds were great favorites with the ancient Mexicans. They used
the feathers as ornaments for their superb mantles in the time of
Montezuma, and in embroidering the pictures so much extolled by Cortez.
Their name signifies, in the Indian language, beams or locks of the sun.
The feathers are still worn by the Indian ladies as ornaments for the
ears.”
It may be properly remarked here that the statement made by Mr. Bullock,
of the habit of these birds sleeping with their heads downwards, has
attracted considerable attention, and it has been thought probable that
he may have been mistaken, or misinformed, not having been confirmed by
subsequent naturalists. It may, however, apply only to some species.
The pugnacity of these little birds is almost universally alluded to by
writers who have enjoyed opportunities of observing them in the
countries where they abound. A Humming Bird of any size, even the
smallest, is not on that account less a fighting character, and jealous
of whatever rights and privileges he considers himself entitled to. But
as both of the authors above quoted, have alluded to this point, we beg
the indulgence of the reader to lay before him another extract
especially relating to this hostility of disposition, and happily
illustrative of the fights and feuds of the Humming Birds. It is from
the very pleasant and valuable little work, previously mentioned, on the
Birds of Jamaica, by Mr. Philip Henry Gosse; and the species alluded to,
the Mango Humming Bird (_T. mango_), is one which is considerably larger
than the common ruby-throated species of the United States. It is
abundant in the West Indies, and in some parts of South America, and it
occasionally visits the shores of Florida. It is figured by Mr.
Audubon:—
“A Mango Humming Bird had, every day, and all day long, been paying his
_devoirs_ to these charming blossoms” (the Malay apple, _Eugenia
malaccensis_). “On the morning to which I allude, another came, and the
manœuvres of these two tiny creatures became highly interesting. They
chased each other through the labyrinth of twigs and flowers, till, an
opportunity occurring, the one would dart with seeming fury upon the
other, and then with a loud rustling of their wings, they would twirl
together, round and round, until they nearly came to the earth. It was
some time before I could see, with any distinctness, what took place in
these tussles; their twirlings were so rapid as to baffle all attempts
at discrimination. At length, an encounter took place pretty close to
me, and I perceived that the beak of the one grasped that of the other,
and thus fastened, both whirled round and round in their perpendicular
descent, the point of contact being the centre of the gyrations, till,
when another second would have brought them both to the ground, they
separated, and the one chased the other for about a hundred yards, and
then returned in triumph to the tree, where, perched on a lofty twig, he
chirped monotonously and pertinaciously for some time;—I could not help
thinking, in defiance. In a few minutes, however, the banished one
returned, and began chirping no less provokingly, which soon brought on
another chase and another tussle. I am persuaded that these were hostile
encounters, for one seemed evidently afraid of the other, fleeing when
the other pursued, though his indomitable spirit would prompt the chirp
of defiance; and, when resting after a battle, I noticed that this one
held his beak open, as if panting. Sometimes they would suspend
hostilities to suck a few blossoms, but mutual proximity was sure to
bring them on again with the same result. In their tortuous and rapid
evolutions, the light from their ruby necks would now and then flash in
the sun with gem-like radiance; and as they now and then hovered
motionless, the broadly-expanded tail,—whose outer feathers are
crimson-purple, but when intercepting the sun’s rays, transmit
orange-colored light—added much to their beauty. A little _Banana Quit_
(_Certhiola flaveola_), that was peeping among the blossoms in his own
quiet way, seemed now and then to look with surprise on the combatants;
but when the one had driven his rival to a longer distance than usual,
the victor set upon the unoffending Quit, who soon yielded the point,
and retired, humbly enough, to a neighboring tree. The war, for it was a
thorough campaign, a regular succession of battles, lasted fully an
hour, and then I was called away from the post of observation. Both of
the Humming Birds appeared to be adult males.”
In the United States, there have been discovered as yet not more than
five species of Humming Birds, including that which is presented to the
reader in our present plate. They are the ruby-throated Humming bird
(_Trochilus colubris_), which is the much-admired little species
everywhere common in the summer-time, in the States on the Atlantic; the
Mango Humming Bird (_T. mango_), an abundant South American and West
Indian species that occasionally visits Florida, as above stated; the
Anna Humming Bird (_T. Anna_), a species of California and Mexico, the
most beautiful of the northern species, and which derives additional
interest from the fact that it was named by an eminent French
naturalist, in honor of Anna, Duchess of Rivoli, whose husband, General
Massena, Duke of Rivoli, the distinguished officer of the armies of the
Emperor Napoleon I., founded the ornithological collection which now
belongs to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. In addition
to these, are the rufous-throated or Northern Humming Bird (_T. rufus_),
a western species, which extends its range on the Pacific coast to a
high northern latitude, and the bird now before us. Another species or
two have been named as inhabiting California, without it being stated
whether the upper or lower divisions of that country was intended. They
are not known to inhabit that portion which is one of the States of this
Union, though it is quite probable that others of the numerous Mexican
species will be found extending their range into the western and
southwestern territories.
Within the limits of the United States, the Humming Bird now before the
reader, has been noticed only by Dr. Heermann, whose fine collection
made in California contained numerous specimens. He detected it in one
locality only, which was the burying-ground at Sacramento city. There
several pairs remained during the season of incubation, and reared their
young, finding suitable food and protection amongst the flowering
plants, with which, with great feeling and propriety, that last
resting-place of the emigrant and stranger has been adorned.
Dr. Heermann represents the nest as composed of fine mosses, lined with
the feathery down of various seeds, and containing two white eggs. He
saw this bird also at Guaymas, in Mexico.
The figures in our plate are of the size of life, and represent adult
males. The plant represented is _Odontoglossum Cervantesii_, a native of
Mexico.