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. Fourteen weeks in zoology. Zoology. ChmtUra pdasgia. Chimney-swallow or Swift. ^'^^ ^^- American species, with its feet, while oil the wing, adroitly breaks off twigs and fastens them to the chimney with its tough, glue-like, saliva so strongly that the brick to which the nest is attached will sometimes yield before the cement. Trochilidas. — Humming-birds are peculiarly American. About 450 species are recognized, yet only one, the Ruby-throated, visits the North Atlantic States, and but ten any part of the United States. They are the smallest as well as the gayest of birds, blending in thei
. Fourteen weeks in zoology. Zoology. ChmtUra pdasgia. Chimney-swallow or Swift. ^'^^ ^^- American species, with its feet, while oil the wing, adroitly breaks off twigs and fastens them to the chimney with its tough, glue-like, saliva so strongly that the brick to which the nest is attached will sometimes yield before the cement. Trochilidas. — Humming-birds are peculiarly American. About 450 species are recognized, yet only one, the Ruby-throated, visits the North Atlantic States, and but ten any part of the United States. They are the smallest as well as the gayest of birds, blending in their rich plumage the rarest colors of flower and gem. Their bills, shaped according to the form of the blossom they are designed to pene- trate for insects, vary great- ly—some being short and straight, others longer than their bodies, and yet others greatly curved. The hum- ming-bird can fly so rapidly that the eye can scarcely follow its flight, or, by beat- ing the air with its wings, sustain itself in front of a flower almost immovable. All the species build tiny, times per year from the caves to which the swallows are accustomed to resort, the old neyts being destroyed to com- pel the birds to build new ones, which, when fresh and unused, bring their weight in silver. The proprietors of a cave in Java are said to receive 50,000 florins annually for rent, and 4,000,000 nests are yearly exported from the coast of Cochin China. Nest of TrocWblus colubrU^ Ruby-throated Humming-bird. \. Fig. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Steele, Joel Dorman, 1836-1886. New York, Chicago [etc. ] A. S. Barnes & Company
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1872