. Birds . not follow them. Now, while the beauty of these birds first awakensattention, the largeness of their wings cannot fail tobe observed. In most cases the size of the wings,and the strength of their quills, appear disproportionedto so small a creature ; yet, on comparing them withits necessities and the other parts of its frame, theirdesign and usefulness are evident. The food ofhumming-birds is derived from the sweet juices 94 THE HUMMING-BIRD. of flowers, or from insects which must betaken in a rapid flight, or drawn from thedeep tube, or cup-shaped recesses, of blos-soms which grow a
. Birds . not follow them. Now, while the beauty of these birds first awakensattention, the largeness of their wings cannot fail tobe observed. In most cases the size of the wings,and the strength of their quills, appear disproportionedto so small a creature ; yet, on comparing them withits necessities and the other parts of its frame, theirdesign and usefulness are evident. The food ofhumming-birds is derived from the sweet juices 94 THE HUMMING-BIRD. of flowers, or from insects which must betaken in a rapid flight, or drawn from thedeep tube, or cup-shaped recesses, of blos-soms which grow and hang in all directions,and which they can only reach by being sus-pended above or under them. All the partsnot used during flight are very slender, andunfit for any long support, or assistance inobtaining food, by climbing or hanging invarious positions, like the titmouse, and manyof the slender-billed warblers. Here, then,is one reason for the size and power of their Feather of the Hum-WmgS. Humminibird. THE SWIFT, 95 But another is, that they may pass safely through thelong- flights which are necessary for their preservation;during which they have often to withstand a passinggale, a heavy shower, and even the rigour of a snow-storm. The climes they inhabit are aj seasons subjectto violent rains, which drench and almost inundate theirabodes ; or to hurricanes, which speedily leave only awreck of what was before so luxuriant and , admirably furnished as they are for flight, they pass,before the dangerous season, to spots where a formerwreck is being repaired, wuth a rapidity unknown inother climates. The form of the wings of humming-birds nearly re-sembles those of the swift; a bird whose address anddexterity on the wing are almost beyond conception,continuing in flight in the height of summer at leastsixteen hours, its movements being computed at seventyfeet in a second. The front outline of the wing is verymuch curved, and the first quill is always
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