All well-informed people are aware that the _Trochilidae_ are a family
peculiar to America and its islands, but one of the commonest 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 (_Nectariniidae_), 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 disables
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
Trochilidae, and hence one of the species (_M. stellarum_) is very
generally called the "humming-bird hawk-moth." But though confined to
the New World the _Trochilidae_ pervade almost every part of it. In
the south _Eustephanus galeritus_ has been seen flitting about the
fuchsias of Tierra del Fuego in a snow-storm, and in the north-west
_Selatophorus rufus_ 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 deg. N. Nor
is the distribution of humming-birds limited to a horizontal direction
only, it rises also vertically. _Oreotrochilus chimborazo_ and _O.
pichincha_ live on the lofty mountains whence each takes its specific
name, but just beneath the line of perpetual snow, at an elevation of
some 16,000 ft., dwelling in a world of almost constant hall, 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_,
_Diphlogaena_ 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 _Eustephanus_ but also to two
other species of the same genus which are not found elsewhere. The
slopes of the Northern Andes and the hill country of Colombia furnish
perhaps the greatest number of forms, and some of the most beautiful,
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
humming-birds common enough in the Brazils, Guiana and Venezuela. The
_Chrysolampis mosquitus_ is perhaps the most plentiful. Thousands of
its skins are annually sent to Europe to be used in the manufacture of
ornaments, its rich ruby-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
_Phaethornis_--the "hermits"; but the great wooded basin of the
Amazons seems to be particularly unfavourable to the _Trochilidae_,
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 remarkable singularities
of geographical distribution to be found. 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.
The habits of humming-birds have been ably treated by writers like
Waterton, Wilson and Audubon, to say nothing of P. H. Gosse, A. R.
Wallace, H. W. Bates and others. 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 a St 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 advantage 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 they that they will frequently attack birds many
times bigger than themselves, without, as would seem, any provocation.
The food of humming-birds consists mainly of insects, mostly gathered
in the manner already described from the flowers they visit; but,
according to Wallace, there are many species which he has never seen
so occupied, and the "hermits" especially seem to live almost entirely
upon the insects which are found on the lower surface of leaves, over
which they will closely pass their bill, balancing themselves the
while vertically in the air. The same excellent observer also remarks
that even among the common flower-frequenting species he has found the
alimentary canal entirely filled with insects, and very rarely a trace
of honey. It is this fact doubtless that has hindered almost all
attempts at keeping them in confinement for any length of time--nearly
every one making the experiment having fed his captives only with
syrup, which, without the addition of some animal food, is
insufficient as sustenance, and seeing therefore the wretched
creatures gradually sink into inanition and die of hunger. With better
management, however, several species have been brought on different
occasions to Europe, some of them to England.
The beautiful nests of humming-birds, than which the work of fairies
could not be conceived more delicate, are to be seen in most museums,
and will be found on examination to be very solidly and tenaciously
built, though the materials are generally of the
slightest--cotton-wool or some vegetable down and spiders' webs. They
vary greatly in form and ornamentation--for it would seem that the
portions of lichen which frequently bestud them are affixed to their
exterior with that object, though probably concealment was the
original intention. They are mostly cup-shaped, and the singular fact
is on record (_Zool. Journal_, v. p. 1) that in one instance as the
young grew in size the walls were heightened by the parents, until at
last the nest was more than twice as big as when the eggs were laid
and hatched. Some species, however, suspend their nests from the stem
or tendril of a climbing plant, and more than one case has been known
in which it has been attached to a hanging rope. These pensile nests
are said to have been found loaded on one side with a small stone or
bits of earth to ensure their safe balance, though how the
compensatory process is applied no one can say. Other species, and
especially those belonging to the "hermit" group, weave a frail
structure round the side of a drooping palm-leaf. The eggs are never
more than two in number, quite white, and having both ends nearly
equal. The solicitude for her offspring displayed by the mother is not
exceeded by that of any other birds, but it seems doubtful whether the
male takes any interest in the brood. (A. N.)