Of all animated beings this is the most elegant in form and the most
brilliant in colors. The stones and metals polished by our arts are not
comparable to this jewel of Nature. She has placed it least in size of
the order of birds, _maxime miranda in minimis_. Her masterpiece is the
little 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 in its aërial 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 only
stay there a short time. They seem to follow the sun in its advance and
retreat; and to fly on the wing of zephyrs 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 alight only at night, resting in
the air 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 to this alone his tongue seems destined.
The vivacity of these small birds is only equaled by their courage, or
rather their audacity. Sometimes they may be seen chasing furiously
birds twenty times their size, fastening upon their bodies, letting
themselves be carried along in their flight, while they peck them
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 hasty rending of
the petals. Their only voice is a weak cry, "_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.