eir gaudy plumage. There was one
bird, however, that had neither "fine feathers" nor an agreeable voice,
but that interested our travellers more than any of the others. Its
voice was unpleasant to the ear, and sounded more like the grating of a
rusty hinge than anything else they could think of. The bird itself was
not larger than a thrush, of a light grey colour above, white
underneath, and with blackish wings. Its bill resembled that of the
hawks, but its legs were more like those of the woodpecker tribe; and it
seemed, in fact, to be a cross between the two. It was neither the
colour of the bird, nor its form, nor yet its song, that interested our
travellers, but its singular habits; and these they had a fine
opportunity of observing at one of their "noon camps," where they had
halted to rest and refresh themselves during the hot midday hours. The
place was on one of the little islets, which was covered with underwood,
with here and there some larger trees. The underwood bushes were of
various sorts; but close to the spot where they had landed was a large
thicket of honeysuckle, whose flowers were in full bloom, and filled the
air with their sweet perfume.

While seated near these, Francois' quick eye detected the presence of
some very small birds moving among the blossoms. They were at once
pronounced to be humming-birds, and of that species known as the
"ruby-throats" (_Trochilus rolubris_), so called, because a flake of a
beautiful vinous colour under the throat of the males exhibits, in the
sun, all the glancing glories of the ruby. The back, or upper parts,
are of a gilded green colour; and the little creature is the smallest
bird that migrates into the fur countries, with one exception, and that
is a bird of the same genus,--the "cinnamon humming-bird" (_Trochilus
rufus_). The latter, however, has been seen in the Northern regions,
only on the western side of the Rocky Mountains; but then it has been
observed even as far north as the bleak and inhospitable shores of
Nootka Sound. Mexico, and the tropical countries of America, are the
favourite home of the humming-birds; and it was, for a long time,
supposed that the "ruby-throats" were the only ones that migrated
farther north than the territory of Mexico itself. It is now known,
that besides the "cinnamon humming-bird," two or three other species
annually make an excursion into higher latitudes.

The "ruby-throats" not only travel into the fur cou