Is it a gem, half bird,
Or is it a bird, half gem?
--EDGAR FAWCETT.
Of all animated beings this is the most elegant in form and the most
brilliant in colors, says the great naturalist Buffon. The stones and
metals polished by our arts are not comparable to this jewel of Nature.
She has it least in size of the order of birds, _maxime miranda in
minimis_. Her masterpiece is the Humming bird, and upon it she has
heaped all the gifts which the other birds may only share. Lightness,
rapidity, nimbleness, grace, and rich apparel all belong to this little
favorite. The emerald, the ruby, and the topaz gleam upon its dress. It
never soils them with the dust of earth, and its aerial life scarcely
touches the turf an instant. Always in the air, flying from flower to
flower, it has their freshness as well as their brightness. It lives
upon their nectar, and dwells only in the climates where they
perennially bloom.
All kinds of Humming birds are found in the hottest countries of the New
World. They are quite numerous and seem to be confined between the two
tropics, for those which penetrate the temperate zones in summer stay
there only a short time. They seem to follow the sun in its advance and
retreat; and to fly on the zephyr wing after an eternal spring.
The smaller species of the Humming birds are less in size than the great
fly wasp, and more slender than the drone. Their beak is a fine needle
and their tongue a slender thread. Their little black eyes are like two
shining points, and the feathers of their wings so delicate that they
seem transparent. Their short feet, which they use very little, are so
tiny one can scarcely see them. They rarely alight during the day. They
have a swift continual humming flight. The movement of their wings is
so rapid that when pausing in the air, the bird seems quite motionless.
One sees him stop before a blossom, then dart like a flash to another,
visiting all, plunging his tongue into their hearts, flattening them
with his wings, never settling anywhere, but neglecting none. He hastens
his inconstancies only to pursue his loves more eagerly and to multiply
his innocent joys. For this light lover of flowers lives at their
expense without ever blighting them. He only pumps their honey, and
for this alone his tongue seems designed.
The vivacity of these small birds is only equaled by their courage, or
rather their audacity. Sometimes they may be seen furiously chasing
birds twenty times their size, fastening upon their bodies, letting
themselves be carried along in their flight, while they peck fiercely
until their tiny rage is satisfied. Sometimes they fight each other
vigorously. Impatience seems their very essence. If they approach a
blossom and find it faded, they mark their spite by a hasty rending of
the petals. Their only voice is a weak cry of _Screp, screp_, frequent
and repeated, which they utter in the woods from dawn until at the first
rays of the sun they all take flight and scatter over the country.
The Ruby-throat is the only native Humming bird of eastern North
America, where it is a common summer resident from May to October,
breeding from Florida to Labrador. The nest is a circle an inch and a
half in diameter, made of fern wood, plant down, and so forth, shingled
with lichens to match the color of the branch on which it rests. Its
only note is a shrill, mouse-like squeak.