第50章

There is not a great variety of hummingbirds in the Amazons region, the number of species being far smaller in these uniform forest plains than in the diversified valleys of the Andes, under the same parallels of latitude.The family is divisible into two groups, contrasted in form and habits: one containing species which live entirely in the shade of the forest, and the other comprising those which prefer open sunny places.The forest species (Phaethorninae) are seldom seen at flowers, flowers being, in the shady places where they abide, of rare occurrence;but they search for insects on leaves, threading the bushes and passing above and beneath each leaf with wonderful rapidity.The other group (Trochilinae) are not quite confined to cleared places, as they come into the forest wherever a tree is in blossom, and descend into sunny openings where flowers are to be found.But it is only where the woods are less dense than usual that this is the case; in the lofty forests and twilight shades of the lowlands and islands, they are scarcely ever seen.Isearched well at Caripi, expecting to find the Lophornis Gouldii, which I was told had been obtained in the locality.This is one of the most beautiful of all hummingbirds, having round the neck a frill of long white feathers tipped with golden green.I was not, however, so fortunate as to meet with it.Several times Ishot by mistake a hummingbird hawk-moth instead of a bird.This moth (Macroglossa Titan) is somewhat smaller than hummingbirds generally are; but its manner of flight, and the way it poises itself before a flower whilst probing it with its proboscis, are precisely like the same actions of hummingbirds.It was only after many days' experience that I learned to distinguish one from the other when on the wing.This resemblance has attracted the notice of the natives, all of whom, even educated whites, firmly believe that one is transmutable into the other.They have observed the metamorphosis of caterpillars into butterflies, and think it not at all more wonderful that a moth should change into a hummingbird.The resemblance between this hawk-moth and a hummingbird is certainly very curious, and strikes one even when both are examined in the hand.Holding them sideways, the shape of the head and position of the eyes in the moth are seen to be nearly the same as in the bird, the extended proboscis representing the long beak.At the tip of the moth's body there is a brush of long hair-scales resembling feathers, which, being expanded, looks very much like a bird's tail.But, of course, all these points of resemblance are merely superficial.The negroes and Indians tried to convince me that the two were of the same species."Look at their feathers," they said; "their eyes are the same, and so are their tails." This belief is so deeply rooted that it was useless to reason with them on the subject.The Macroglossa moths are found in most countries, and have everywhere the same habits; one well-known species is found in England.Mr.Gould relates that he once had a stormy altercation with an English gentleman, who affirmed that hummingbirds were found in England, for he had seen one flying in Devonshire, meaning thereby the moth Macroglossa stellatarum.The analogy between the two creatures has been brought about, probably, by the similarity of their habits, there being no indication of the one having been adapted in outward appearance with reference to the other.

It has been observed that hummingbirds are unlike other birds in their mental qualities, resembling in this respect insects rather than warm-blooded vertebrate animals.The want of expression in their eyes, the small degree of versatility in their actions, the quickness and precision of their movements, are all so many points of resemblance between them and insects.

In walking along the alleys of the forest, a Phaethornis frequently crosses one's path, often stopping suddenly and remaining poised in midair, a few feet distant from the face of the intruder.The Phaethorninae are certainly more numerousin the Amazons region that the Trochilinae.They build their nests, which are made of fine vegetable fibres and lichens; densely woven together and thickly lined with silk-cotton from the fruit of the samauma tree (Eriodendron samauma); and on the inner sides lined with of the tips of palm-fronds.They are long and purseshaped.The young when first hatched have very much shorter bills than their parents.The only species of Trochilinae which Ifound at Caripi were the little brassy-green Polytmus viridissimus, the sapphire and emerald (Thalurania furcata), and the large falcate-winged Campylopterus obscurus.

Snakes were very numerous at Caripi; many harmless species were found near the house, and these sometimes came into the rooms.Iwas wandering one day amongst the green bushes of Guajara, a tree which yields a grape-like berry (Chrysobalanus Icaco) and grows along all these sandy shores, when I was startled by what appeared to be the flexuous stem of a creeping plant endowed with life and threading its way amongst the leaves and branches.This animated liana turned out to be a pale-green snake, the Dryophis fulgida.Its whole body is of the same green hue, and it is thus rendered undistinguishable amidst the foliage of the Guajara bushes, where it prowls in search of its prey-- treefrogs and lizards.The forepart of its head is prolonged into a slender pointed beak, and the total length of the reptile was six feet.