Page:The naturalist on the River Amazons 1863 v1.djvu/206

bird hawk-moth instead of a bird. This moth (Macroglossa Titan) is somewhat smaller than humming-birds 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 humming-birds. It was only after many days' experience that I learnt 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 humming-bird. The resemblance between this hawk-moth and a humming-bird 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.