eid Fate NE ae em tbe : ‘ + Natural History Museum Library AM 300009433 BRITISH MUSEUM (NATURAL HISTORY), r DAYS AND HOURS OF ADMISSION. The Exhibition Galleries are open to the Public, free, every day of the week, except Sunday, in January and February, from 10 a.m. till 4 p.m. -March and April, pba ass eww ieee May to August, ph. aden eae September and October, ae oe se November and December, Fy SAeay tp eee eos Also, from May Ist to July 15th, on Mondays and Saturdays only, till 8 P.u., and from July 15th to August 31st, on Mondays and Saturdays only, till 7 p.m. The Museum is closed on Good-Friday and Christmas-Day. W. H. FLOWER, Director. 25 AUG. 99 0 AG Ue LTO THE GOULD COLLECTION OF HUMMINGBIRDS. | PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES. 1889. PRICE TWOPENCE. dew het Sly Vetere vs iT BRITISH MUSEUM (NATURAL HISTORY), CROMWELL ROAD, SOUTH KENSINGTON. A GUIDE TO THE GOULD COLLECTION OF HUMMING-BIRDS. PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES. 1889. f Lo ot LS ~Bb Doc re | Price Twopence. 47 ALERE i FLAMMAM. PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. HUMMING-BIRDS. THE collection of Humming-birds exhibited in the British Museum was formed by the late Mr. John Gould, F.R.S., who commenced the study of this family of birds some forty years ago. The difficulties of obtaining new or rare species from countries previously untrodden by the collector were much greater then than they are in the present day; but the energy and enthusiasm of John Gould overcame all obstacles; he lost no opportunity of acquiring, at any cost, species not repre- sented in his collection ; he incited by high rewards travellers to go specially in search of rare or unknown species ; and after the lapse of twenty years he had succeeded in bringing together a series far exceeding in variety of forms his own expectation or that of ornithologists generally. He commenced the publication of a great work, ‘The Monograph of the Trochilidee,’ which finally extended to five volumes in folio, and comprised descriptions and figures of about 400 different species. From an early period he began to mount with his own hand the most remarkable types, placing as much as possible allied forms in the same case, and demonstrating their habits and chief characteristics, and especially the ever-varying hues of their colours, by the different attitudes in which he arranged the specimens. ‘This collection of mounted Humming-birds con- tained about 300 species and 2000 specimens when he exhibited it in the Zoological Gardens in Regent’s Park during the Great Exhibition of 1851. It proved one of the great attractions in London during that memorable year; and after it had been 2, HUMMING-BIRDS. exhibited to the public for a year or two, he removed it to his residence in Charlotte Street, Bedford Square, where he had built a gallery for its reception. Here it remained until his death in February 1881. ° It was always Mr. Gould’s hope and wish that the whole col- lection of mounted and unmounted specimens should be preserved as the property of the nation ; and accordingly it was offered by his Executors to the Trustees of the British Museum, who pur- chased it in the same year. The acquisition of this collection was all the more important, as almost all the original specimens from which the figures in his work on Humming-birds were taken are contained in it. We can here only shortly refer to some of the principal features which give so great an interest to this group of birds. Those who are desirous of reading a fuller account should con- sult Mr. Gould’s ‘Introduction to the Trochilide’ (London, 1861, 8vo). Humming-birds or Trochilidw, formerly placed in most classi- fications in the Order of Tenuirostres or Slender-billed Birds, form a group by themselves*. They are most nearly allied to The “ Ruby and Topaz” Humming-bird (Chrysolampis mosquitus). (Half nat. size.) * The two species figured in this Guide-book (Chrysolampis mosquitus and Doct- mastes ensiferus) have been selected, the one to show the general form of a typical Humming-bird, the other to illustrate one of those numerous wonderful modifica- tions of structure fitting the species for some special object in itshabits. HUMMING-BIRDS. 3 the Swifts, with which they have many points of their internal organization in common. [ven their long slender bills, which appear so very different from the wide-gaping mouth of a Swift, are much less so at an early period of their life. Mr Wallace describes the nestlings of some species of Humming-bird ; they had the bill short and broadened, the gape wide, and, in fact The “ Sword-bill” Humming-bird feeding on the tubular flowers of Brugmensia. (One fourth nat. size.) more resembling that of a Swift than that of the adult parent bird. The bill of Humming-birds, although always very slender, is very variable in shape and size, being straight in some and curved in others ; in some extremely short, as in the Thorn-bills (Rampho- micron), and in others extremely long, as in the Sword-bill 4 HUMMING-BIRDS. (Docimastes), where it is used in probing to the base of the long tubular flowers from which the bird derives its food. The tongue is long, composed of two cylindrical united tubes, and bifid at the tip. It is capable of being protruded for some distance, the tongue-bones with their muscles being prolonged backwards and upwards over the back of the skull as in the Skull of Humming-bird with tongue. a, tongue, bifid at the end; 0, muscle retracting the tongue ; c, muscle protruding the tongue. Woodpeckers. The wings have ten primaries, and are, as a rule, narrow and pointed, apparently most unsuited for a sus- tained flight ; but they are set in motion by enormously developed muscles, which render the body of these tiny birds much heavier than one would expect. The sternum, which gives attachment Front and side views of the breast-bone of a Humming-bird. to these muscles, has a very deep keel and a rounded posterior margin without indentation or fissure. The tail is wonderfully varied in shape throughout the family, and in many instances highly ornamented ; it consists of ten feathers and no more. The tarsi and feet are particularly small and feeble, and quite unfit for progression on the ground. . Therefore these birds seldom or never alight on the earth, but prefer to settle on a bare dead limb of a tree or some other projection. The eggs are oval and white, and always two in number. The nest is a HUMMING-BIRDS. a delicate structure, compactly built of soft materials felted to- gether ; its outside is generally adorned with lichens or dead leaves in such a manner as to tend to its concealment. The male is said to work at this decoration often after the female has commenced to sit. Asarule the male is the most brilliantly coloured, but in some instances the female is also adorned with metallic plumage. Humming-birds possess an almost unique power and peculiarity of flight. The Duke of Argyll (‘ Reign of Law,’ p. 175) describes it thus :—“ The Humming-birds are perhaps the most remarkable examples in the world of the machinery of flight. The power of poising themselves in the air,—remaining absolutely stationary whilst they search the blossoms for insects,—is a power essential toutheirlife ...... When they intend progressive flight, it is effected with such velocity as to elude the eye. The action of the wing in all these cases is far too rapid to enable the observer to detect the exact difference between that kind of motion which keeps the bird at absolute rest in the air, and that which carries it along with such immense velocity. ..... There is another fact mentioned by those who have watched their movements most closely—viz. the fact that the axis of the Humming-bird’s body, when hovering, is always highly inclined, so much so as to appear almost perpendicular in the air. In other words, the wing-stroke, instead of being delivered perpendicularly down- wards, which would infallibly carry the body onwards, is de- livered at such an angle forwards as to bring to an exact balance the upward, the downward, and the forward forces which bear upon the body of the bird.” The sight of a number of these birds feeding round some trees which are out in full bloom is described by all who have witnessed it as being one of the most remarkable spectacles of the Tropics. Their intellect seems to be of alow order. In their disposition (says Mr. Gould) they are unlike birds, and approach more nearly the insects. _Restlessness, irritability, and pugnacity are among their principal characteristics ; they not only fight per- sistently among themselves, but they will even venture to attack much larger birds, and it is said that several of them will com- bine and attack a Hawk and drive it away. People are often 6 HUMMING-BIRDS. attacked by them when they approach too near their nests. It is stated that they have also a great dislike to the large Hawk- moths or Sphinges, which they themselves somewhat resemble in their flight, the vibration of the wings producing in both a similar humming sound. Humming-birds are extremely difficult to keep in confinement, owing probably to the impossibility of providing them with suitable food and with the means of indulging in their long and ceaseless flights. Liberty is to them life. Mr. Gould succeeded in bringing one alive to London, but it died two days after its arrival. In their native country they survive the loss of their liberty for a few months, and are said to become at once familiar to the persons attending to them. Humming-birds are entirely confined to the New World *. In popular accounts they are not rarely mentioned as occurring in Africa, India, and other tropical parts of the Old World ; bu the birds thus misnamed belong to a very different group, viz. the Nectariniide or Sun-birds, which, indeed, offer a striking ex- ternal resemblance to the true Humming-birds, but differ from them in the structure of the feet and tongue, in the shape of the sternum, and other most important characters. Altogether about 430 different kinds of Humming-birds are known. They range from Sitka in the far North-west to Tierra del Fuego, and from the lowlands near the coast to an altitude of 16,000 feet on the Andes. The northern and southern species, however, are migrants, and retire at the end of the short summer of the high latitudes towards the equator. The number of species increases as we approach the equator, the tropical forest-regions producing them in the greatest variety ; and an idea of the abundance of some of the species may be obtained from the fact that their skins have been for many years an article of trade, tens of thousands being annually exported from Bogota and various places in Brazil, and sold in London, Paris, and New York. Leaving out of consideration the species which have a wide * The accompanying map shows the distribution of the Humming-birds over North and South America, the depth in the shade of colour being in proportion to the abundance of species in the several subregions. | GREENLAND JTERRITOR re SLi st : ay ie