Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 15, NIC-PAR

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O R N I T H
left open, take a turn round the room as flies do with
us, and then suddenly regain the open air. When feed¬
ing, they will allow persons to come within two yards
of them ; but, on a nearer approach, they dart oft" with
wonderful swiftness. The red-throated humming bird
most frequently builds on the middle of a branch of a
tree, and the nest is so small, that it cannot be seen by
a person who stands on the ground. It is quite round j
the outside, for the most part, composed of the green
moss common on old pales and trees, and the inside of
the softest vegetable down which the birds can collect.
Sometimes, however, they vary the texture, using flax,
hemp, hairs, and other similar materials. They are
sometimes, likewise, known to fix it on some low bush,
on a stalk of the tobacco plant, or even on the side of a
pod of ocra (Hibiscus esculentus, Lin.). The female lays
two eggs, which are white, and equal in thickness at
both ends. When these birds observe any one climbing
the tree in which they have their nests, they attack him
in the face, attempting to strike him in the eyes, and
coming, going, and returning, with such swiftness, that
one would scarcely credit it who had not seen it him¬
self. This species, like the others of its genus, is seldom
caught alive. A friend of Monsieur du Pratz had,
however, this pleasure. He had observed one of them
enter into the bell of a convolvulus j and, as it had quite
buried itself to get at the bottom, he ran immediately
to the spot, shut the flower, cut it from the stalk, and
carried off the bird a prisoner. He could not, however,
prevail on it to eat; and it died in the course of two or
three days. Charlevoix informs us, that he had one of
them in Canada, for about twenty-four hours. It suffer¬
ed itself to be handled, and even counterfeited death,
that it might escape; but it fell a real sacrifice to a
slight frost during the night. “ My friend Captain
Davies informs me (says Dr Latham), that he kept
these birds alive for four months by the following me¬
thod :—He made an exact representation of some of the
tubular flowers, with paper fastened round a tobacco
pipe, and painted them of a proper colour. These were
placed in the order of nature, in the cage in which the
little creatures were confined : the bottoms of the tubes
were filled With a mixture of brown sugar and wrater as
often as emptied j and he had the pleasure of seeing them
perform every action ; for they soon grew familiar, and
took their nourishment in the same manner as when
ranging at large, though close under the eye.'’
Ruby-necked humming bird.—Green-gold ; tail even
and ferruginous, the two outer feathers tipt with brown j
wings black-, bill and legs blackish ; crown, hind head,
and neck ruby ; body brown beneath. Female whitish
gray beneath, with a gold spot on the breast and throat.
Upwards of three inches long. Inhabits Guiana, Bra¬
zil, and Surinam. Reputed the most beautiful of the
tribe.
White-bellied humming bird.—Tail feathers black,
the lateral ones white ; head blue; back green j belly
white. Above four inches long. Inhabits Surinam.
Edwards remarks, that the whole of the plumage, in
the sun, seems as if mixed with threads of gold.
Least humming iire?.-—Green; whitish beneath \ late¬
ral tail feathers white on the outer edge $ bill and legs
blackish; wings violet bi’own} tail feathers bluish-black,
the primary totally gray j secondary gray from the mid-
O L O G Y.
beneath. Inhabits South America, and some of the West
India islands. The least of all known birds j being hard¬
ly an inch and a quarter in length, and weighing front
twenty to forty-five grains ; thus being surpassed in
weight and dimensions by more than one species of bee.
The female is even less than the male.
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Order III. ANSERES. AnSEBESt
... 315
Biel somewhat obtuse, covered with a skin, gibbous at Characters,
the base ; mouth toothed j tongue fleshy ; feet pal-
mated, and formed for swimming.
Most of the birds belonging to this order dwell much
in the water. Their feet and legs are short, concealed
under the feathers, and placed more behind than in other
birds. Their toes are short, and generally compressed,
so that they easily cleave the water, and by means of
their membranes or webs, form, as it were, broad oars.
Their plumage is thicker, closer, and better furnished
with down than that of other birds. The gland which
all birds have at the rump, and from which they express
an oily matter to preserve their feathers moist, is most
considerable in the anseres, and contributes to make
their plumage impermeable to water. They feed on
fish, aquatic animals, and plants. In general they are
polygamous, and make their nests among reeds, or in
moist places* The young are soon able to seek their
own food ; yet the mother leads and protects them for
some time, and the male frequently kills them. For the
most part they lay many eggs ; and the flesh of many
is eatable, though it frequently savours of oil, or of
fish.
3I6‘
Anas.
die to the tip. Female dirty greenish-brown, whitish one
Gen. 32. Anas.
Bill convex, obtuse, the edges divided into lamellated characters,
teeth ; tongue fringed and obtuse ; the three fore toes
connected, the hind one solitary.
This is a very numerous genus, and includes swans,
geese, and ducks.
A. Bill gibbous at the base. ,i g
Wild swan, hooper, elk, whistling swan, &c.—Bill Cygtm*.
semicylindrical, and black } cere yellow j body white }
eyelids naked, yellow ; legs black j ribs eleven. This
is obviously a distinct species from the common or mute
swan, being of a smaller size, and having the windpipe
differently constructed. It weighs from fifteen to twen¬
ty-five pounds, and measures nearly five feet in length.
It inhabits Europe, Asia, and America, affecting chiefly
the northern regions of the globe, and seldom appearing
in England, except in hard winters. On the approach
of spring, they quit their southern stations, and again
retire northward to breed. A few indeed drop short,
and perform that office by the way, halting in some of
the Hebrides, Orkneys, Shetland, or some solitary island.
But the great bodies of this species occur on the large
rivers and lakes near Hudson’s bay, and thooa of Kam-
tschatka, Lapland, and Iceland. They are said to re¬
turn to tire latter place in flocks of about a hundred at
a time, in springs and also to pour in on that island
from the north, in nearly the same manner, on their way
southward, toward the close of autumn, flying very high
in the air, and in such a compact body, that the bill ol
touches the tail of another. The young, which
2 R 2 are