SECOND ANNUAL MEETING 37 



one ahove and one below. The feathers had become sufficiently long 

 to cover all parts of the body. The feet and bill were black, the latter 

 having- lengthened surprisingly. The bird was still fearless, and after 

 the usual opposition about leaving the nest jierched contentedly upon 

 the tip of my finger. It took advantage of this airy i^osition to exercise 

 its wings, which it did time after time, with sufficient rapidity to pro- 

 duce a fairly audible humming sound. When it did this I could feel 

 the tiny feet clutch more closely. 



On the 9tli I left home at half past ten o'clock with camera and 

 twelve plates, half fearing that the little wings had by this time car- 

 ried away vay subject. I approached the nest reader for such a misfor- 

 tune, but the 3'oung Hummingbird was still in possession, and I 

 hastened to renew my acquaintance. Within the two days since my 

 last visit, however, it had become possessed of another instinct — that 

 of fear. As I touched the branch the bird left the nest and fluttered 

 to the ground ten feet away, dropping lightly upon a bed of molding 

 leaves. I soon had it in my hands, and was delighted to find that it 

 was willing to take up matters where we had dropped them, and dur- 

 ing the four hours which I spent at the nest it sho^ved no further signs 

 of fear. The glossj'' green of the back had become more noticeable, 

 and the black feathers of the tail no^v had a violet iridescence. I was 

 almost certain that the bill had grown perceptibly within forty-eight 

 hours, in spite of the fact that the ornithologists declare the growth of 

 the bill to be very slo^v. The feathers had become smoother and pre- 

 sented a fairly mature appearance. The little one had acquired am- 

 bitious tendencies, and promptly climbed and fluttered to the highest 

 available iierches. When placed at the bottom it clambered manj^ times 

 to the top of my ladder of four fing-ers. As ui^on the occasion of my 

 preceding visit, it seemed to enjoy clutching my finger and exercising 

 its wings. It proved an admirable jihotographic subject, and eleven 

 of the twelve plates which I exposed were successful. One photograph 

 of particular interest shows the young bird with neck stretched to its 

 full extent; the mother bird flew over and the little one prepared to 

 meet her. I had the pleasure of seeing- the feeding repeated several 

 times that afternoon. 



During all the time I spent at the nest — a total of twelve and one- 

 half hours on five separate days — I did not see the male parent. It 

 seems to have been fully established by observers that the male takes 

 no further interest in the family after the completion of the nest, as 

 a rule; perhaps leaving even that duty to the female in most cases. 



On the Sth of September occurred the terrible Galveston storm. 

 On the night of the 10th the storm reached Omaha, and it ^^vas quite 

 severe, with strong wind and heavy, cold rain. I thought many 

 times of the little home on the branch in the woods, and wondered 

 whether the little one and the mother could cling to the frail, swaj'- 

 ing nest tlirougli the long cold night. I shall never know; but dur- 



