210 BIRDS OF NEW ENGLAND AND EASTEKN NEW YORK 



sits, the long needle-like bill appears out of all proportion 

 to the size of the tiny creature. Hummingbirds are very 

 fearless, and often will not hesitate to fly about a bunch 

 of some favorite flower held in the hand ; they are also 

 very irritable, constantly pursuing each other with excited 

 squeaking. The male often poises in mid-air, and then with 

 a sudden downward rush executes an arc, rising to the 

 same height, then swinging back to the former station. The 

 female alone is said to attend to all the duties of nest-build- 

 ing and the care of the young, which she feeds by thrusting 

 her bill far down into their throats. 



There is only one species of Hummingbird in eastern 

 North America, but the male alone has the ruby throat. 

 Certain sphinx moths, poising before the flowers in the 

 afternoon, are often mistaken for hummingbirds. 



SWIFTS: FAMILY MICROPODID^ 



Chimney Swift. Chcetiira pelagica 



5.43 



Ad. — Entire bird sooty-brown, palest on throat ; wings long 

 and narrow; tail either ciyar-shaped, or, when spread, fan-sbaped. 



Nest, a shallow platform of sticks glued to the inside of a 

 chimney. Eggs, white. 



The Chimney Swift is an abundant summer resident 

 throughout New England and New York. It arrives to- 

 ward the end of April or early in May, and leaves toward 

 the end of August; small flocks, presumably migrants from 

 farther north, are often seen, particularly along the valleys 

 of large rivers, till late in September. 



The nest is made of short twigs broken off by the bird 

 while flying. It is a moot point whether the bill or the feet 

 are used for this purpose. These twigs are glued together 

 and to the bricks in the chimney by saliva, and form a shal- 

 low platform on which the eggs are laid. In northern New 



