I was
not, however, so fortunate as to meet with it. Several times I
shot by mistake a hummingbird hawk-moth instead of a bird. This
moth (Macroglossa Titan) is somewhat smaller than hummingbirds
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 hummingbirds. It was only
after many days' experience that I learned 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 hummingbird. The resemblance between this hawk-moth and a
hummingbird 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.
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