rLVCATCllKliS. 149 



ini^ its bill into tlic uioiith of its <)fTspriii<r and injecting 

 IVkmI as thonii'h from Ji syringe. 



Sonio tropical liiiiiiinini^-l)ir(ls liave songs worthy tlie 

 name, ])ut the notes of onr Jiui)y-t]iroat are u mere 

 S(|ueak, sometimes })rol(>nged into a twitter. 



I'nder any circnmstances a llnmmingbird's nest ex- 

 cites admiration, Ihit if you would a})preciate its fairylike 

 beauty, find one where the birds liave placed it, probably 

 on the horizontal limb of a birch. Doubtless it will be 

 occupied by the female, for it seems that the male takes 

 little or no part in family affairs after incubation begins. 

 As far as known, all Hummingbirds lay two white eggs 

 — frail, pearly ellipses, that after ten days' incul)ation 

 develop into a tangle of tiny dark limbs and bodies, 

 which no one would think of calling birds, much less 

 " winged gems." 



PERCHING BIRDS. (ORDER PASSERES.) 



FLVcATcHKiis. (Family Tyrannid.^-:.) 



Doubtless, every order of birds has had its day when, 

 if it was not a dominant type, it was at least sufficiently 

 near it to be considered modern ; and as we review what 

 is known to us of that great series of feathered forms, 

 from the ArchaM>])teryx to the ThrUvslies, we can real- 

 ize how varied has been the characteristic ainfauna of 

 each succeeding epoch from the Jurassic period to the 

 present. 



Now has (MMiie the day of the order Passci'ts^ the 

 Percliing IJirds; here belong our Flycatchers, Orioles, 

 Jays, Sparrows and Finches, Vireos, Swallows, AVarblers, 

 AVrens, Thrushes, and many others. A recent authority 

 classifies birds in thirtv-four orders, but fullv one half of 



