her, till solid masses,
as large as hogsheads, are formed on the branches all around. Here and
there the perches give way with a crash, and falling to the ground,
destroy hundreds of the birds beneath, forcing down the dense groups
with which every stick is loaded. The pigeons continue coming, and it
is past midnight before there is any sign of a decrease in their
numbers. The ground in all directions is strewed with branches broken
by the weight of the birds which have pitched on them. By sunrise, the
enormous multitude have taken their departure, while wolves, foxes, and
other animals who had assembled to feast on the bodies of the slain, are
seen sneaking off.

Audubon describes the flight of one of these almost solid masses of
birds pursued by a hawk; now darting compactly in undulating and angular
lines, now descending close to the earth, and with inconceivable
velocity mounting perpendicularly, so as to resemble a vast column, and
then wheeling and twisting within their continued lines, resembling the
coils of a gigantic serpent. Their assemblages greatly surpass in
numbers those of the pinnated grouse already described.

HUMMING-BIRDS.

A considerable number of these gem-like members of the feathered tribe
make their appearance in summer, even as far north as Canada, and on the
sides of the hills rising out of the "Fertile Belt," within sight of
Lake Winnipeg,--a region where snow covers the ground for so many months
in the year. The most common, as well as the most beautiful, species of
these minute birds, is the ruby-throated humming-bird--a name given to
it on account of the delicate metallic feathers which glow with ruby
lustre on its throat, gleaming in the sunshine like gems of living fire.
From the tip of the bill to that of the tail it measures about three
and a half inches. The belly is green, and the upper part of the neck,
back, and wing-coverts, are of a resplendent and varied green and gold.
The breast and lower parts are white, the wings purplish-brown, and the
tail partly of the same colour, with the two middle tail-feathers of
vivid green.

In the warm climate of the more southern States, the beautiful little
ruby-throat is found throughout the winter; and as the summer draws on,
the heat in the northern States suiting its delicate constitution, it
migrates in large flocks, appearing in the middle States towards the end
of April. Tiny as they are, they pass through the air at a rapid r