look with surprise on the combatants; but when the one had driven the other to a longer distance than usual the victor set upon the unoffending Quit, who soon yielded the point, and retired humbly enough to a neighbouring tree. The war--for it was a thorough campaign, a regular succession of battles--lasted fully an hour, and then I was called away from my post of observation. Both of the Humming Birds appeared to be males." According to Gosse, the Vervain Humming Bird is the only species endowed with a song; this bird warbles very weakly but sweetly for ten minutes at a time during the spring months. The other members of this family at most indulge in a sharp shrill chirp, as they flit from one flower to another. * * * * * The GIANT GNOMES (_Eustephanus_), the largest members of the family, are not conspicuous for the gaiety of their plumage. The structure of their long beak varies considerably; the foot is of moderate size; the wings either long and slender or broad and short; the tail, which is of medium length, is forked at its extremity. THE GIANT HUMMING BIRD. The GIANT HUMMING BIRD (_Patagona gigas_) is pale brown shaded with green on the upper portions of the body; the wings are greyish yellow; the head, upper breast, and back are marked with dark undulating lines; the wings and tail-feathers are dark brown, the latter enlivened by a green gloss. This species is two inches long. The Giant Humming Bird inhabits the southern parts of Western America, appearing also in the extreme south. During the course of its migrations it has been met with at an altitude of from 12,000 to 14,000 feet above the level of the sea. "Like others of its family," says Darwin, "it moves from place to place with a rapidity which may be compared to that of the syrphus among dipterous insects, or sphinxes among moths; but whilst hovering over a flower it flaps its wings with a very slow and powerful movement, totally different from that vibrating one common to most of the species which produces the humming noise. I never saw any other bird whose force of wing appeared (as in a butterfly) so powerful in proportion to the weight of its body. When hovering by a flower its tail is constantly expanded and shut, like a fan, the body being kept in a nearly vertical position. This action seems to steady and support the bird between the slow movements of its wings." [Illustration: THE GIANT HUMMING BIRD (_Patagona gigas_).]