"One of the principal summer haunts of this bird," writes M. Bourcier, "is Chuquesaca, in the interior of Bolivia, where it appears when the fruit-trees of the country are in flower, and is met with in the greatest numbers among the flowers of the capulo, a kind of cherry-tree; it also visits the orchards and gardens of the city during the blossoming of the apple-trees. It is by no means shy, and the males are constantly at war, chasing each other with the utmost fury, uttering at the same time a sharp cry, whenever one bird invades another's territory."
HUMMING BIRDS.
"Soon after the arrival of these birds in Chuquerca," says Bonelli, "the task of incubation commences, and when the summer is over, both the old and young, actuated, as it were, by the same impulse, wend their way southward, to return again when the sun has once more gladdened the earth. The nest is a somewhat loose structure, outwardly composed of interlaced fibres, slight twigs, and moss, and frequently lined with soft hair, like that of the Viscacha (Lagostomus tridactylus), with the lower portion prolonged considerably below the bottom of the cup-shaped interior, which is about an inch and a half in diameter and an inch in depth; the total length of the nest averaging from two inches and a half to three inches. The little structure is placed in situations similar to those selected by the Spotted Flycatcher, namely, against the sides of the gully, supported or entirely sustained by any hanging root or twig that may be best adapted to afford it security; the part of the nest next the wall is much thicker, but of a coarser texture than the circular portions of the structure. The two eggs are oblong in form, of a pure white, and about half an inch in length. The difficulty of shooting these birds is inconceivably great, from the extraordinary turns they make when on the wing: at one instant darting headlong into a flower, at the next describing a circle in the air with such rapidity that the eye, unable to follow the movement, loses sight of it until it again returns to the flowers."
The MASKED HUMMING BIRDS (Microrhamphi) have a short, straight beak, moderately long and broad wings, and long, forked tail, which occasionally varies in its formation. The head and neck are adorned with peculiar tufts of feathers.
THE SHARP-BEARDED MASKED HUMMING BIRD.
The SHARP-BEARDED MASKED HUMMING BIRD (Microrhamphus oxypogon).—"I met with this fine species," says M. Linden, "for the first time in August, 1842, while ascending the Sierra Nevada de Merida, the crests of which are the most elevated of the eastern branch of the Columbian Cordilleras. It inhabits the region immediately beneath the line of perpetual congelation, at an elevation of from 12,000 to 13,000 feet above the level of the sea; it appears to be confined to the region between the 8th and 7th degree of north latitude. It occasionally perches on the scattered shrubs of this icy region, but most frequently on the projecting ledges of the rocks near to the snow. Its flight is swift, but very short. When it leaves the spot upon which it has been perched, it launches itself obliquely downwards, uttering, at the same time, a plaintive whistling sound, which is also occasionally uttered when perched; as far as I can recollect, I never heard it produce the humming sound made by several other members of the group, nor does it partake of their joyous spirit and perpetual activity. Its food appears to consist of minute insects, all the specimens we procured having their stomachs filled with small flies."
"This bird," says Gould, "is never met with at a less elevation than 9,000 feet. It might be thought that such bleak and inclement situations were ill-adapted for so delicate a structure as that of the Humming Bird; but there and there only does it dwell, while the equally lofty paramas of Bogota are the native locality of the nearly-allied species, Oxypogon Guerini. The minute insects which frequent the Alpine flowers of these districts afford abundance of food to these birds, and their bills are beautifully constructed for searching amongst the flowers in which these are found."