RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD 343 



Hummingbirds also avail themselves of the sap flowing from holes 

 drilled by sapsuckers. In the article quoted under the yellow-bellied 

 sapsucker, Frank Bolles (1894) speaks of the hummingbirds as con- 

 stant and numerous visitors to the sapsucker's "orchards." 



In order to attract hummingbirds to our gardens Dr. Arthur A. 

 Allen (1930) suggests planting "caragana, pelargonium, tritoma; 

 * * * tiger lilies, painted cups, bee-balms, scarlet salvias, azaleas, 

 and gladiolus; * * * scarlet runners and trumpet vines; * * * 

 horse-chestnuts and buckeyes." 



Prof. O. A. Stevens writes to Mr. Bent from Fargo, N. Dak., as 

 follows : "About the earliest flower that the hummingbirds visit here 

 is Ribes odoratum^ cultivated from the Missouri River region. The 

 next one, and the one where I always watch for them about May 

 20-25, is Caragana arhoreacens^ an introduced shrub that is much 

 planted here. A little later the native Aquilegia canadensis and 

 Lonicera dioica are available. On a specimen of the latter some of 

 the flowers drooped to the ground, and, as I watched the bird at 

 them, he rested on the ground for a few moments while he probed 

 several flowers. Early in fall the cannas and gladioli are, of course, 

 their favorites. The most natural summer flower seems to be the 

 native Impatiens^ and I believe that the hummingbirds' nesting 

 grounds are closely associated with these plants." 



Caroline G. Soule (1900) speaks of the activities of a male hum- 

 mingbird about a bed of nasturtiums. She writes: "Most of his 

 time was spent in slashing off the spurs of the nasturtiums to get 

 at their nectar. We had hardly one perfect nasturtium flower all 

 summer long, owing to his attacks." 



Wilson (1831) charmingly notes his experience with the humming- 

 bird as a flycatcher thus: "I have seen the humming bird, for half 

 an hour at a time, darting at those little groups of insects that dance 

 in the air in a fine summer evening, retiring to an adjoining twig 

 to rest, and renewing the attack with a dexterity that sets all our 

 other flycatchers at defiance." 



Behavior. — The ruby-throated hummingbird gives the impression 

 of being a nervous, high-strung, irritable little bird. It often resents 

 the presence of other species of birds, however innocent their design 

 may be. It is intolerant also to members of its own species to such 

 a degree that, as a rule, the more hummingbirds there are together, 

 the more excited and hostile they become. 



I once saw a hummingbird attack a chimney swift — a strange bird 

 to arouse the hummer's venom. My notes say : "August 2, 1909. This 

 evening I saw Greek meet Greek — a hummingbird chasing a swift. 

 The birds flew overhead rapidly, well above the treetops, the hum- 

 mingbird a little behind and above. I saw it make a dive at the 



