HUMMINGBIRDS 



suckle, tuberose, columbine and delphinium. Best 

 of all is a background of horse chestnut and apple 

 trees. Such a barrage of color and scent will 

 certainly attain Its object, and one of the first 

 hummingbirds you see will probably not be a 

 hummingbird at all. The closest examination will 

 only add to the wonder of the sphinx moth which 

 comes hovering in late afternoon, with colled 

 tongue masquerading as a beak, and an astonish- 

 ing band of long hair functioning as tail. But 

 there Is no hum of wings, and the eyes are not 

 intelligent and have to be helped out by an- 

 tennae. 



This similarity on the wing between moth and 

 bird is amazing, but the likeness ends there. 

 W. H. Hudson was woefully wrong when he 

 devoted an entire chapter to insectizing the hum- 

 mingbird. We will stop to demolish only one false 

 premise — the trait of fearlessness common to both 

 groups. This may be due to several fundamental 

 causes. In the Galapagos the birds and reptiles 

 have no enemies, therefore no fears, and the ap- 

 pearance of a human being inspires no timidity. 

 Insects and the hummingbirds about us have been 

 familiar with man for generations and count him 

 among the least of hostile beings. The humming- 

 birds of the deep tropical jungles, however, are 

 exceedingly wary, for there any trust In creatures 

 with hands fashioned like the quick-sensed mon- 

 keys would be fatal. 



The female hummingbirds arrive soon after the 



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