HUMMINGBIRDS. 315 



thickly coated with lichens as closely to resemble the branch 

 to which they are attached. Near Boston, two eggs are laid 

 in each nest, in the early part of June. They are white, ellip- 

 tical, and half an inch long or even less. 



c. Our little Hummingbirds deserve renown, not only for 

 their small size, exquisite colors, and eminently pleasing 

 architecture, but also for their hardiness, courage, and admi- 

 rable flight. They are known in summer to occur so far to 

 the northward (if not further) as the fifty-seventh parallel of 

 latitude, which crosses Hudson Bay and northern Labrador. 

 They are summer residents throughout a larger portion of the 

 eastern United States, and as such are common in New Eng- 

 land. They reach Massachusetts in the second week of May, 

 and I have seen them near Boston, so late as the twenty-third 

 day of September.ii^ They generally arrive in pairs, and return 

 to the same home every year. The male protects his honor 

 and rights with undaunted courage, and often teases very large 

 birds in expression of his anger, though he may be " incompe- 

 tent," says Wilson, " to the exploit of penetrating the tough 

 sinewy side of a Crow, and precipitating it from the clouds to 

 the earth, as Charlevoix would persuade his readers to be- 

 lieve." He also finds occasion to battle with intruders of his 

 own kind, but it is impossible to understand the details or re- 

 sult of such a duel, so confusing is the intense quickness of 

 the combatants. In fact, the Hummingbirds are so small, 

 and so extremely swift in all their movements, that it is as diffi- 

 cult to observe them, unless stationary or seemingly so, as to 

 follow the course of a shooting star. So rapid is the beating 

 of their little pinions, that whenever flying they produce a 

 loud humming, and when pausing before a flower, seem to be 

 immovable, while the presence of their nearly invisible wings 

 is scarcely indicated except by the constant buzz and whirr. 

 The Hummingbirds have two distinct methods of feeding, 

 easily observable upon studying their habits. They may be 

 seen darting from flower to flower, and thrusting their long 

 slender bills into the heart of the blossoms, not only to pro- 



^^^ Coincidentally Mr. Maynard gives the same day as his latest date of ob- 

 servation. 



