142 



Bird -Lore 



bolls of the l^iittonliall tree, being of that 

 color and texture; the sides of tlie nest 

 were solidly compacted. Unlike the usual 

 style of nest-building, the nest and all in- 

 side was finished before tlie outside re- 

 ceived its embellishments. This was done 

 lastly, and was the most interesting part 

 of the building ; or, I may truly say, 

 decorating. The little bird, with its long 

 bill, could reach nearly all the outside of 

 the nest while sitting in it ; looking over 

 the side she artistically covered it piece by 

 piece with lichens that gave the domicile 

 the appearance of the bark of the tree. 

 These little pieces of lichen stick on quite 

 tightly ; there is a network of fine spider- 

 web over the rough finish, and on this the 

 little plates of lichen was stuck and pressed 

 on firmly. I am inclined to think the bird 

 used a gum from the balsam of fir tree, 

 for while finishing the nest she frequented a 

 tree of that kind and pecked at the terminal 

 buds ; it may have been for insects, but I 

 think for the sap that exudes from the 

 buds, as some other birds use it — particu- 

 larly the Baltimore Oriole. I never see 

 them so engaged after building time. The 

 female Hummer seemed very anxious about 

 external appearances, as she frequently 

 looked over the outside and touched up the 

 beautiful covering while incubating. I did 

 not look into the nest while the eggs were 

 in it, but in due time two little downy 

 heads appeared above the edge of the nest. 

 The female bird did not cover either eggs 

 or young as regularly as most small birds 

 do. I was afraid her absence would spoil 

 the eggs, for she slid off when any one 

 passed down the path or was working in 

 the garden near by; yet the eggs hatcheil. 

 I never saw the male take any part in 

 feeding ; he was often looking on from a 

 dead twig of a near-by tree, and once I saw 

 him make an attempt to drive away a 

 Sparrow ; this was worth observing, as 

 there were many Sparrows and other small 

 birds about. I took particular notice they 

 did not alight on the branch this nest was 

 on, but on all other parts of the tree. 

 There was a pear growing on the tip end 

 of the branch, and as it grew larger it 

 began to lower the nest on one side, hut 



the inmates seemed equal to the occasion, 

 for they kept their heads and bodies as far 

 on the opposite side of tlie nest as possible. 

 While the laills of many young birds are 

 proportionately longer, the bills of the baby 

 Hummers are shorter than their parents' — 

 not more than half their length. The 

 method of feeding is a curious instance of 

 nature's means to an end ; the old bird 

 puts its bill quite down the throat of the 

 young, and with a gurgling and quivering 

 motion, shaking its head up and down, 

 discharges the nourishment into the young 

 one's crop or stomach. This is often re- 

 peated, especially in the early morning and 

 evening, at an interval of seven or ten 

 minutes. The little creatures soon fill the 

 nest tightly ; in two weeks they appear un- 

 comfortably close, when one will get on the 

 side of the nest, and, soon after, out of it, 

 returning at night to sleep in the nest, till 

 able to f\y well, after which they do not 

 forsake the locality as many birds do, but 

 feed and rest near by for several weeks ; 

 they choose a dead twig of a near tree or 

 shrub, where one rests at a time; as soon 

 as another one comes the first moves off as 

 if playing tag. The young remain grayer 

 in color than the old birds, probably till 

 the spring. I frequently saw them catch 

 small flies on the wing in late summer and 

 return to their perch, sometimes uttering 

 a very light twitter. About the middle 

 of September they left for more congenial 

 climes. This year, 1900, a pair came, 

 perhaps the same birds, as they built on a 

 low branch of a pear tree close to the old 

 site. — Henry H.\les, Ridgenjvood , Neuj 

 Jersey. 



Food of the Downy Woodpecker 



On August 9 and 10, 1898, I saw a 

 Downy Woodpecker at work on a mullein 

 head pecking open the seed-cases, almost 

 every one of which held a little yellowish 

 white grub rolled up inside. I found that 

 seed-vessels that contained grubs were 

 brown, while those on the same stalk free 

 from them were still green, and observed 

 that the Woodpecker only opened the 

 brown ones. — W. E. Cram, Hampton 

 Falls. \. II. 



