TROCHEE

(^Gr. r^oxccio;.) A rhythmical measure consisting oftwo syllables, a long and a short; thus, — \j. TROCHILUS. {Gr. Tiox'Xos, a small bird.) This term was applied by Linneeus to the genus of small and brilliantly coloured birds which, from the energy and rapidity of the vibrations of their wings during flight, are called humming-birds. This genus includes the smallest of the feathered tribe, and, if we except a few fishes, the most diminutive of vertebrated animals: some humming-birds scarcely exceed a humble-bee in size; they are unable to escape from the strong webs of the large spiders of the American tropics, and thus sometimes become their prey. The humming-birds are characterized by a long and slender bill, inclosing an extensile bifid tongue, by which they extract tlie nectar and the small insects which may lurk in the rece es of flowers. They have very small feet, long and narrow wings, a broad and entire sternum with an unusually deep keel and a short and strong humerus; all combining to form a mechanism for rapid and powerful flight, like that of the swift. Humming-birds live in pairs: they have the character of being very quarrelsome, the males fighting desperately with eacii other: both sexes combine to defend their nests with courage. [s. 1277]