mixture. The tail consists of about twelve feathers; the outermost on each side are of a green and yellow mixture, about three inches in length; the two middlemost twice that length, ending in sharp points, of a brown or dusky colour; the legs and feet black.

They principally feed on bees, beetles, grasshoppers, and other insects. They build in hollow places or caverns five or six feet deep, and lay six or seven eggs.

Of this curious little bird there are six or seven varieties, from the size of a small wren down to that of a humblebee. Their principal food is the honey which they extract, while on wing, from the bottom of tubular shaped flowers. The smallest Hummingbird

is about the size of a hazel nut. The feathers on its wings and tail are black; but those on its body and under its wings, are of a greenish brown, with a fine red gloss, which no silk or velvet can imitate. The bill is black and slender, and the head is adorned with a small crest, which sparkles in the sun like a little star in the middle of the forehead. The larger Hummingbird, which is nearly half as big as the wren, is without a crest; but to make amends it is covered from the throat half way down the belly, with ruby

coloured feathers, which, in some lights, are as bright as fire. The heads of both are small, with little round eyes, as black as jet.

It is inconceivable how much these little creatures add to the high finishing of a luxuriant western landscape. In the West Indies and South America, as soon as the sun is risen, the Hummingbirds of different kinds are seen fluttering about the flowers, without ever alighting upon them, visiting flower after flower, and extracting its nectar, as if with a kiss; while the motion of their wings produces a. humming sound, which first gave rise to their name. bration of their wings is so rapid that the eye cannot follow it, and their flight is so swift that it is like the glance of lightning.

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The nests of these birds, which are about the size of a hen's egg cut in two, are not less curious than the rest they are suspended in the air, at the point of the twigs of an orange, a pomegranate, or a citron tree; and are composed of cotton, fine moss, and the fibres of vegetables. The females lay two eggs about the size of small peas, and as white as snow, with here and there a yellow speck; and at the end of twelve days the young ones appear. They are hatched by the sitting of the male and female alternately. They are at first bare, but are gradually covered with down, and at last with feathers.

Small as the Hummingbird is, it has great courage and violent passions. If it find that a flower has been deprived of its honey, it will pluck it off, throw it on the ground, and sometimes tear it to pieces; and it often fights with a desperate fury which is astonishing in a creature of such diminutive size. It will even allow a man to come within two yards of it before it will take to flight. Hummingbirds are caught by blowing water on them from a tube, or shooting at them with sand.

THE Bird of Paradise tribe, of which there are about eight species, has been the subject of many fabulous descriptions, all of which are now exploded. Among other things, the egg was said to be produced in the air by the female, and to be hatched by the male in an orifice of its body: that so wonderful an origin might not be derogated from, the bird was affirmed to be produced without legs; to hang itself by the two long feathers of the tail to a tree when sleeping; to live wholly on dew; and never to touch the ground from the commencement to the close of its existence. That all this has a poetical air there can be no doubt; but it is utterly devoid of truth.

The name of this beautiful creature, we may fairly suppose, was given to him on account of his being

generally seen on the wing, and flying in the tropic zone at a small distance from the land. Its appearance being most welcome to the tired sailor and longing passenger, generally causes much happiness by its foretelling the vicinity of terra firma. The head is small, but adorned with colours which can vie with the brightest hues of the peacock's embellishments; the neck is of a fawn tint, and the body very small, but covered with long feathers of a browner hue, tinged with gold; two feathers issue from the rump, and constitute the tail. These volatiles, whose beauty exceeds that of all others, are natives of the Molucca Islands, and are frequently seen in large flocks among the delightful and spicy woods of that country. The GREATER BIRD OF PARADISE, of which there are two varieties, breeds in New Guinea, and lives there during the wet monsoon, but during the dry monsoon it inhabits the islands of Arrou, about a hundred and forty miles eastward. They migrate in flocks of thirty or forty, and have a leader which the Indians call the King. He is described as being black, with red spots, and as soaring far above the flock, which never quit him, but always settle where he does.

The Bird of Paradise never flies with the wind, because, if it did so, its loose plumage would be discomposed and blown over its head. Should a heavy gale come on, it directs its flight to a loftier region, and leaves the tempest beneath it.

The usual method of taking these birds is by shooting them with blunt reed arrows; after which their legs are amputated; their entrails taken out, and their bodies filled with spices, preparatory for sale to the Europeans.

This bird's feathers have long formed a favourite ornament of the South American ladies, and have recently become so with the British fair.

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THIS curious bird is almost twenty inches in length; the bill is six inches long, and near two inches thick at the base, being of a yellowish green colour, reddish at the tip. The nostrils are at the base of the bill, but are not covered with feathers, as in some of the species. The principal upper parts of the body, and the breast and neck, are of a glossy black, with a tinge of green; the lower part of the back, the rump, upper part of the tail, and small feathers of the wings are the same, with a cast of ash colour: the breast is of a fine orange. The belly, sides, thighs, and the short feathers of the tail are a bright red; the remainder of the tail is of a greenish black, tipped with red. The legs and claws are black. This bird is easily tamed, and will become very familiar, and eat almost any thing offered to it; in general it feeds on fruits. its wild state it is a noisy bird, and is perpetually moving from place to place, in quest of food, going

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