1902] Saunders Canadian Hummingbirds. ioi 



walks in the country, he will usually see not more than i or 2 in a 

 morning and often none. Under these conditions, nests are seldom 

 found, and in all the years I have studied birds I have found but 3, 

 one of which was never completed. This first was found near 

 Ottawa on July 7th, 1890, and was seen under exceptionally favor- 

 able circumstances. My brother and I spent quite a long- time 

 watching- the tiny builder. The nest had not yet begun to show 

 cupping, and she was very busy ; her absences tveie short and her 

 visits frequent ; 20 or 30 seconds was often sufficient for her to get 

 a load, and she took only from 10 to 30 seconds, usually 20, to 

 finish working it in. The universal testimony seems to be that, 

 while the female is useful, the male is merely ornamental, and takes 

 no part whatever in the work ; that was certainly the fact in 

 this instance. When we took this nest, we wound cotton carefully 

 around it and then cut off the limb, and thus succeeded in 

 safely collecting the whole. The only other nest I have taken was 

 at Port Stanley, on June 2nd, 1893. It was placed on a dead twig of 

 a wild cherry tree and was certainly difficult to secure, but by 

 following the same tactics as before, winding it with cotton and 

 sawing off the limb, I secured it safely. 



These little birds have very dainty habits, and one can spend 

 no hours more pleasantly than in watching them. I was once 

 favoured by being allowed to view the morning toilet of a Hummer 

 in my garden. There had been a heavy dew, and the little fellow 

 bathed in the moisture-laden leaves of the grape and raspberry, 

 fluttering his wings and shaking his body and feathers, just as 

 larger birds do in larger vessels. It seemed like a burlesque, and 

 one could hardly help the idea that this little mite "thought he 

 was a bird." 



On another occasion J saw one drink the juice of a cherry 

 that the robins had broken. 



While one notices these tiny creatures only while they are on 

 the wing, he will discover by watching them that their rests are 

 frequent and long, but their wee. faint "chirp" is seldom uttered 

 except while on the wing. During the longer rests, generally 

 made on a dead or bare twig, or a wire, the bird will often plume 

 itselt for many minutes at a time and shows in many ways its 

 neatness and cleanliness. 



