380 BULLETIN 17G, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



the vessel be filled nearly to the top, the syrup is either sipped with 

 the end of the bill svibmerged or lapped with the tip of the bill held 

 just at the surface and the tongue protruded only slightly. An 

 Anna's hummingbird ordinarily consumes about two teaspoonfuls of 

 saturated solution daily, only a few drops being taken at a time. 



Various means may be used for the artificial feeding of the hum- 

 mingbirds, ranging from small vials tied to the branches of trees to 

 large and elaborate self-feeding devices, with provisions for dis- 

 couraging the visits of ants, bees, and larger birds. Syrup in ordi- 

 nary small brown bottles is often discovered by the birds without any 

 kind of lure, but in more complex arrangements it is usually neces- 

 sary to first guide them by inserting a flower in the opening. A 

 change in the design of the container will cause much confusion and 

 uncertainty for a time. Of other liquids than sugar solution, maple 

 syrup and strained honey are acceptable, though the latter sometimes 

 seemed to cause inconvenience because of its viscosity. Milk was not 

 taken, and preserved fruit juicep., though heavy with sugar, were ap- 

 parently not palatable. 



Naturally the proportion of liquid food in the ordinary diet of the 

 hummingbird cannot be determined by an examination of stomachs, 

 but Junius Henderson (1927) lists the identified contents of a large 

 number of stomachs, as reported by Beal and McAtee in Farmers' 

 Bulletin 506 (1912), as follows: Anna hummingbird {Calypte 

 anna), 111 stomachs — vegetable matter, only a trace of fruit pulp; 

 Diptera (gnats and small flies, largely neutral), 45.23 percent; 

 Hymenoptera, mostly useful, 35.03 percent; Hemiptera, 17.30 per- 

 cent ; spiders, 2 percen.t. 



F. C. Clark (1902) found that one stomach examined contained 32 

 treehoppers, 1 spider, 1 fly, and other insect remains. Fruit juices 

 doubtless form only an inconsiderable part of the hummingbird's 

 diet, but occasionally in fall an Anna's hummingbird may be seen 

 sipping the juice of a persimmon that has been pecked by other birds 

 and has softened on the tree, or the juice of a partially eaten tuna or 

 pricklypear (Op/mfm). 



That the females in the nesting season require some additional 

 mineral constituents in their diet was made clear to me upon seeing 

 a female Anna's hummingbird upon several occasions visit a spot 

 where particles of mortar were scattered. Hovering close to the 

 ground, she appeared to be picking up the small grains and at other 

 times would repeatedly plunge her bill into the loose sandy soil near 

 by. Mr. Arnold (1930) tells of seeing Anna's hummingbirds alight 

 on patches of ground where sand and plaster were strewn and seem 

 to be picking up something, which he did not identify. 



The changing seasons of the flowers have made expedient for the 



