70 VERTEBRATES: BIRDS. 



to make a hole in a tree for the nest. The female lays 

 from four to six beautiful white eggs for each brood, 

 and two broods are reared in a season. 



PERCHERS, OR INSESSORES. 



These make up a large part of the most 'common 

 birds, as Humming-Birds, Nighthawks, Kingfishers, Fly- 

 catchers, Thrushes, Warblers, Creepers, Titmice, Spar- 

 rows, Grosbeaks, Larks, Blackbirds, Jays, Crows, &c. 



HUMMING-BIRDS. 



These are birds of the smallest size and of the most 

 gorgeous plumage to be found in the feathered race. 

 The beauty of their colors defies description ; and from 

 their brilliancy they are often called "flying gems.' 5 



Figs. 114 and 115. Ruby-throated Humming-Bird and Nest. 



There are about four hundred kinds, and they all be- 

 long to the continent and islands of America, and are 

 most numerous in the warm regions. Their feet are 

 very small, their wings long, and their power of flight 

 very great ; and they can balance themselves in the 

 air, or beside a flower, with perfect ease. Their food 

 consists of insects and the honey of flowers. Their 

 nests are usually made of cotton, thistle-down, delicate 

 fibres, and other soft materials, woven into a cup-shaped 

 cradle, and placed on a branch of a tree not many feet 

 from the ground ; and the outside is covered with lich- 



