. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. 378 Ul^lORi ill any way to Vn-iug a just conception of it to the ideas of tliose who have not crossed tlic: Athintic; and even the comparison so often made between tliem and the Sphingidai, though doubtless in the main true, is much to the advantage of the latter. One is admiring tlie stars of a scarlet Conlia, the snowy cornucopias of a Porllandia, or some other brilliant and beautiful flower, when between the blossoms and one's eye suddenly appears a small dark object, suspended as it weie between foui shoit black
. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. 378 Ul^lORi ill any way to Vn-iug a just conception of it to the ideas of tliose who have not crossed tlic: Athintic; and even the comparison so often made between tliem and the Sphingidai, though doubtless in the main true, is much to the advantage of the latter. One is admiring tlie stars of a scarlet Conlia, the snowy cornucopias of a Porllandia, or some other brilliant and beautiful flower, when between the blossoms and one's eye suddenly appears a small dark object, suspended as it weie between foui shoit black threadb meeting each othei in a cross For an instant it shows in fiont of the flowei , an instant iikup it steulies itself, and one perceives the space between each ]nn of OLCupied li\ i lil \ again anothei mstaiit, and, emitting a momentary flash of emerald and sapphire light, it IS ^.inishing, lessening in the distance as it shoots away, to a speck that the eje cannot take note of—and all this. so lapidly that the word on one's lips IS still unspoken, scarcely the thought in one's mind changed. It was a bold mm oi- an ignorant one who first ven- tuied to depict Humming birds flying; but it cannot be denied that repre- s( ut itioiis of them are often of special nsi to the ornithologist. The peculiar attion of one, and probably of many or dl othei species of the family, is such, tint at times in flying it makes the w inijs almost meet, both in front and behind, at each vibration. Thus, \\iiMi a liird chances to enter a roouv It will .,tnerally go buzzing along the (.oiniti Standing beneath where it is, one will find that the axis of the b(Kl\ IS vertical, and each wing is de- sciibmg a nearly perfect semicircle. As might be expected, the pectoral muscles are very large; indeed, the steinum of this bird is a good deal 1 i-,%ei than that of the common ( liinmey Swallow (Hiruiido rustica). I>ut the extraordinary rapidity with A\ inch the vibrations are efi'ected see
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjecta, booksubjectanimals
