Hummingbird WESTERN BIRDS 



but the careful inspection which I received at this time 

 was because of anxiety for the nestlings. I found that 

 if my head was covered I could go as close as I chose; 

 and so I stood beside the camera, put the focusing cloth 

 over my head, and peeked out at one side. The female 

 was not quite sure about this arrangement and before 

 going to the nest always buzzed noisily about my head — 

 then satisfied, went about her feeding which even the 

 click of the camera did not disturb. 



Though I have never seen the male Black-chin help 

 build the nest, or care for the young, I have seen a male 

 of this species about while the female brooded. In one 

 instance where a bird had a nest high up in a sycamore 

 tree, several times we saw a male fly near without any 

 interference from the brooding female, and once we saw 

 him fly nearby, and the female left the nest and flew 

 away after him. 



This little mother often worked on her nest as she 

 brooded; sometimes leaning over and running her bill 

 over the outside and along the edges. It was the tini- 

 est of buff balls, well concealed among the big sycamore 

 leaves. It is said that the nesting of this species depends 

 upon the abundance of flowers in the canyons and on 

 the hillsides. If the season has been a wet one in Cali- 

 fornia there will be many blossoms, and, also, many 

 Black-chinned Hummingbirds' nests. 



The courting dance of all these birds is extremely in- 

 teresting and varies somewhat with the different species. 

 It is always accompanied by a noise that is heard at no 

 other time, and which one learns to know from all others. 

 Often in some canyon I have heard the high-pitched, 

 long-drawn-out whistle like the sighing of the wind, and 

 if my eyes were as quick to see as my ears were to hear, 

 I would discover the male Black-chinned making a big 

 figure eight through the air, as he chassed back and 

 forth in his courting dance. The peculiar noise is made 



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