THE RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD 



Hummingbird Family — Trochilidcs 



Length: About 3% inches; bill over 34 inch. 



Male: Iridescent green above; gray below, with a glint of 

 green, especially on the sides; wings and tail brown, 

 with slight iridescence; throat brilliant ruby, — 

 brownish in some lights; tail forked. 



Female: Similar to male, but without ruby on throat, which 

 is flecked with minute brownish spots; tail-feathers 

 of nearly even length, outer feathers with white tips. 



Note: No song — only a faint squeak. 



Habitat: Open country; cultivated tracts of land, especially 

 those overrun with vines; gardens, particularly those 

 that contain trumpet-creepers and honey-suckles. 



Nest: One of the most exquisite nests made. It is in the 

 shape of a tiny cup, covered with lichens and lined 

 with soft materials. It is frequently placed so high 

 on a branch as to be difficult to distinguish from an 

 excrescence on the bough. The eggs look like white 

 beans. 



Range: Eastern North America. Breeds from central Canada 

 to the Gulf Coast and Florida; winters from central 

 Florida and Louisiana through Southern Mexico and 

 Central America to Panama. 



HUMMINGBIRDS are rightly in a family by them- 

 selves — they are unique. They are the smallest 

 of our birds, and yet they possess a power of flight unsur- 

 passed. Mr. Forbush says: "The little body, divested 

 of its feathers, is no larger than the end of one's finger, 

 but the breast muscles which move the wings are enor- 



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