528 Field Museum of Natural History — Zoology, Vol. IX. 



ruby red, bordered with whitish on the breast; rest of under parts, 

 dusky gray, tinged with green on the sides; tail, forked. 



Adult female: Similar, but no red on throat; throat and under 

 parts, whitish; tail with more or less black bars, the outer feathers 

 tipped with white. 



Immature males have the throat white, streaked with dusky, and 

 the feathers of the upper parts more or less tipped with buff. 



Length, 3.20; wing, 1.65; bill, .65; tail, 1.20. 



This beautiful little species is a common summer resident in both 

 Illinois and Wisconsin, arriving i-n May and the majority leaving for 

 the south early in September. During the summer months they are 

 often seen darting from flower to flower, thrusting their bills into the 

 blossoms, extracting the honey and feeding upon the minute insects 

 found therein. They show a partiality for the trumpet-shaped kinds 

 such as the honeysuckle and begonia. They also catch very small 

 insects with great dexterity while on the wing, and from time to 

 time will perch to rest on some slender twig of bush or tree. The 

 note is a faint cheep. 



It breeds in late May and June. The nest is a dainty, little struc- 

 ture composed of plant down and lichens and built on a limb, usually 

 from ten to twenty feet from the ground. The eggs are two, pure 

 white, and measure about .48 x .35 inches. The young are fed by 

 regurgitation. 



