HUMMEL, JOHANN NEPOMUK Ger man composer and pianist, was born on Nov. 14, 1778, at Press burg, in Hungary. In 1785 his father became conductor at Schikaneder's theatre in Vienna. Schikaneder was a friend of Mozart and the librettist of the Magic Flute, and introduced Hummel to Mozart who gave the boy instruction for two years. At nine years old Hummel toured Europe with his father as a "Wunderkind" ; in his eleventh year he began to compose. After his return to Vienna he completed his studies under Albrechts berger and Haydn; and at a later period he learned song-writing from Salieri. From 1804 to 1811 he was Kapellmeister to Prince Eszterhazy. Beethoven's Mass in C was performed in 181o, and a remark passed by Hummel caused an estrangement between the two which was only healed just before Beethoven's death. The years 1811 to 1815 were spent in Vienna, and after the peace Hum mel began to tour Europe as pianist and conductor, having enor mous success everywhere. He died in 1837 at Weimar, where for a long time he had been the musical conductor of the court theatre. Hummel wrote, amongst other things, several operas, both tragic and comic, and two grand masses (Opp. 8o and 111) . More im portant are his compositions for the pianoforte (his two concertos in A minor and B minor, and the sonata in F sharp minor), and his chamber music (the celebrated septet, and several trios, etc.) . His experience as a player and teacher of the pianoforte was embodied in his Great Pianoforte School (Vienna), and the excel lence of his method was attested by his pupils, Henselt and Ferdi nand Hiller. Hummel continued the traditions of the earlier Viennese school of Mozart and Haydn; his style alike as pianist and composer was marked by purity and correctness rather than by passion and imagination.
the name applied to the beautiful little birds forming the family Trochilidae, which is confined to America. Their nearest allies are the swifts (Micropodidae). Of their in ternal characters, the most notable is the extreme development of the breast-bone and its keel in connection with the rapid wing-beat from which the birds derive their English name. This is particularly noticeable in the smaller forms. In the larger the wing-beat is slower (see Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle). The humming birds form a very homogeneous group, all small in size, varying in length from 81-in. in Patagonagigas to 2iin. in Mellisuga minima, which weighs under 2 grms. Within their limits, however, the Trochilidae present a remarkable diversity of form ; the colouring is usually of a brilliance unequalled by larger birds (though the "hermits," forming the genus Phaethornis, are plainly coloured), and only to be described by comparisons with precious stones. The females are usually less brilliantly coloured than the males. Tails, wings and crests are all subject to modi fication, as is the length of the bill. The tongue is protrusible and forms an organ for the capture of insects and the imbibing of nectar.
It is advisable to mention that the birds called humming-birds in Africa and India are sun-birds (Nectariniidae), while in Eng land the humming-bird hawk-moth (Macroglossa stellarum) is occasionally taken for a true Trochilid.
The humming-birds are distributed almost all over America, reaching Tierra del Fuego in the south and Sitka (as a summer visitor) in the north ; but their metropolis is on the slopes of the northern Andes in Colombia. The "hermits" are confined to the Amazon valley, which is otherwise very poorly supplied with these birds. Eighteen species inhabit the United States, but some of these only just cross the frontier. On Mount Chimborazo and elsewhere humming-birds are found at an elevation of i6,000ft., just below the level of perpetual snow. This is remarkable, as the heat-loss from such small birds is so great that it is to be expected that they should be confined to warm climates.
The habits of the humming-birds have been admirably treated by Waterton, Wilson, Audubon, Gosse, Wallace, Bates and others. The nest is solidly built, usually of vegetable down and spiders' webs. It is generally a cup-shaped structure, though the form is very variable and some species suspend their nests from stems, leaves or tendrils. The eggs, almost invariably two in number, are white and almost symmetrically pointed. The mother bird is very solicitous for her offspring.
See J. Gould, Monograph of the Trochilidae.