“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.