BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD 393 



piercing noise we have mentioned, invariably puts to fliglit any bird assaulted. 

 We have thus seen the Western Kingbird {Tyruunus vcrticalis), the Black- 

 headed Grosbeak (Hedymeles nielanocephalus) , and the Sharp-shinned Hawk 

 (Nisus fuscus) beat a hasty retreat before the persevering assaults of 

 this Humming-bird. When thus teasing an intruder the little champion ascends 

 almost perpendicularly to a considerable height, and then descends with the 

 quickness of a flash at the object he would annoy, which is probably more 

 frightened by the accompanying noise than by the mere attack itself. As we 

 chanced, while hunting on the mountains, to pass through the haunts of this 

 Hummer, it frequently happened that one of the little creatures, prompted ap- 

 parently by curiosity, would approach close to us and remain poised in one 

 spot, its wings vibrating so rapidly as to appear as a mere haze around the 

 body ; now and then it would shift from one side to another, its little black 

 eyes sparkling as it eyed us intently. So close would it finally approach that 

 to strike it with a hat or a stick seemed to be quite an easy matter, but upon 

 the slightest motion on our part the little thing would vanish so quickly that 

 its direction could scarcely be traced. 



Mr. Swarth (1904) testifies on the swiftness of the flight of this 

 bird, as follows: "The shrill buzz of its wings, that is of the male 

 bird, is frequently heard; and time and again as the sound ap- 

 proached, passed, and died a"way in the distance, I watched, but in 

 vain, to catch sight of the author of it. Several times I have seen 

 one leave its perch on a twig and dart off in pursuit of another of the 

 same species, and even then was unable to follow him with my eye ; 

 and though presently the sound of wings announced his return, I 

 was seldom able to see the bird before he dropped onto his perch. 

 * * * The fliglit of the female is not accompanied by the buzzing 

 noise made by the male bird, and from their habits they are more 

 inconspicuous and less frequently seen than their mates." 



Curiosity is shown in various ways, beside the case cited above. 

 Mr. Rockwell tells, in his notes, of one that flew against the window 

 of a laboratory where he was sitting; another "hovered before a 

 mirror that was hanging to a tent pole outside" of his camp, but "it 

 made no attempt to fight its image"; again it, or another, alighted 

 "on a guy rope, then hovered before the tent, and finally flew over 

 to the car, and in front of every window, apparently attracted by its 

 image." Dr. Mearns (1890) writes: "Its boldness is without paral- 

 lel; it knows no fear. A member of our party on San Francisco 

 Mountain wore a scarlet cap, but he found these audacious birds so 

 troublesome from their constant attacks upon it that he was glad to 

 pocket it in order to be rid of the irate little furies." 



All hummingbirds are fond of bathing, and this species is no ex- 

 ception. On May 15, 1922, while climbing to the summit in the 

 Huachuca Mountains, and following the course of a little mountain 

 stream that flowed swiftly over its stony bed, we stopped to watch a 

 pair of broad-tailed hummingbirds that were bathing in the brook. 

 They chose a spot where the water barely covered a flat stone, settled 



