The Birds of Jamaica

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J. Van Voorst, 1847 - Birds - 447 pages
 

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Page 13 - The Lord's portion is his people ; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness ; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings ; so the Lord alone did lead them, and there was no strange god with him.
Page 13 - He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings; so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.
Page 199 - The precipitous sides of this magnificent amphitheatre were fringed with various evergreens and aromatic shrubs, flowers, and many Alpine plants. On the north and south sides of the base of the cone were two pieces of water, one perfectly pure and tasteless, the oUier strongly impregnated with sulphur and alum. This...
Page 89 - At length one, after surveying the net, passed again round the tree; on approaching it the second time, perceiving the strange object to be still unmoved, he took courage, and began to suck. I quite trembled with hope ; in an instant the net was struck, and, before I could see anything, the rustling of his confined wings within the gauze told that the little beauty was a captive. I brought him in triumph to the house and caged him, but he was very restless, clinging to the sides and wires, and fluttering...
Page 91 - They chased each other through the labyrinth of twigs and flowers, till an opportunity occurring, the one would dart with seeming fury upon the other, and then with a loud rustling of their wings, they would twirl together, round and round, until they nearly came to the earth. It was some time before I could see with any distinctness what took place in these tussles ; their twirlings were so rapid as to baffle all attempts at discrimination. At length an encounter took place pretty close to me, and...
Page 109 - Polytmus, from the effect that such motions have on the long feathers of the tail. That the object of these quick turns is the capture of insects, I am sure, having watched one thus engaged pretty close to me. I observed it carefully, and distinctly saw the minute flies in the air which it pursued and caught, and heard repeatedly the snapping of the beak. My presence scarcely disturbed it, if at all.
Page 103 - ... round as she sat. My presence appeared to be no hindrance to her proceedings, though only a few feet distant. At length she left again, and I left the place also. On the 8th of April, I visited the cave again, and found the nest perfected, and containing two eggs, which were not hatched on the 1st of May, on which day I sent Sam to endeavour to secure both dam and nest. He found her sitting, and had no difficulty in capturing her, which, with the nest and its contents, he carefully brought down...
Page 374 - were killed accidentally, by the negroes at work ; as they are so foolish as to hide their heads, and, cocking up their rumps, think they are safe, when they are easily taken.
Page 111 - ... blow-tube ; a third mode is to watch them into a deep tubular flower, and to secure them with a gauze net, which is skilfully thrown over it. Very many humming-birds were caught by Mr. Gosse, with a common gauze butterfly net, on a ring a foot in diameter. The curiosity of humming-birds is great ; and on holding up the net near one, he frequently would not fly away, but come and hover over the mouth, stretching out his little neck to peep in. Often, too, when an unsuccessful stroke was made,...
Page 102 - ... for she now and then swiftly projected the tongue an inch and a half from the beak, continuing the same curve as that of the beak. When she arose, it was to perform a very interesting action; for she flew to the face of the rock, which was thickly clothed with soft dry moss, and hovering on the wing, as if before a flower, began to pluck the moss, until she had a large bunch of it in her beak; then I saw her fly to the nest, and having seated herself in it, proceed to place the new...

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