398 



THE RUFOl S IILMMER. 



tlieir mother. Indeed it was a mystery wliere she could possibly have found 

 anything to eat. This nest was saddled upon a twig a few feet above the 

 ground amidst the sheltering jjranches of a huge cedar, thus protecting the 

 young from any direct contact with the rain. 



There is scarcelv a concei\'able situation, except (Hrecll\- on the gmund, 

 that these birds will not select for a nesting site. Such ni\d places have been 

 ciiosen as a knot in a large rope that hung fmm the rafters of a woodshed; 

 and again, amongst the wires of an electric light globe that was suspended in 

 the front porch of a 

 city residence. It may 

 be found fifty feet up 

 in some huge fir in the 

 depths of the forest, or 

 on the stem of some 

 blackberry bush grow- 

 ing in a city lot. 



Very often they 

 form colonies during 

 the nesting season, as 

 many as twenty nests 

 being built in a small 

 area. Some large fir 



generallv 



Taken near Taconia. Photo by the Authors. 



NEST OF RUFOUS HU.MMER ON FIR HR.WCII. 



grove IS 



chosen for the colony, 



but a UK^st interesting 



one was located on a 



tiny island in Puget 



Sound. This island has 



had most of its large 



timber cut away, and 



is heavily overgrown with huckleberrw l)lackberr\-, rnid small alders. In the 



center is the colon}-, the nests ])laced only a few yanls apart on any \'ine or 



bush that will serve the purpose. Huckleberry bushes seem the favorites, 



but many nests are built in the alders and on the blackberry vines. 



The nesting season is greatly iirotracted. for fresh eggs ma\- be found 

 from April till July. This makes it seem probable that each pair raises at 

 least two broods during the spring and summer. After incubation is some- 

 what advanced, the female is most courageous, often permitting herself to be 

 lifted off the nest before its contents can be examined. At such times the 

 bird student must be on his guard, as the little mother will often resent the 

 intrusion, and her attack is always made at the eyes. 



