^THE % OOLOGIST> 



VOL. VI [I. 



ALBION, N. Y., JUNE, 1891. 



No. G- 



The Humming Birds of California - 



The Huinmiugbirds occnp}- a i)ronii- 

 neut place in the Avi-fauna of Califor- 

 nia, there l)eiiig uo less than six species 

 found regularly within the borders of 

 the state. Although none of these pos- 

 sess the e.xtravagant features found in 

 some of the more tropical representa- 

 tives of this family, they are interesting 

 little creatures and command the ad- 

 miration and attentive consideration of 

 all lovers of bird life. Hummingbirds 

 are strictl}- American, and in their in- 

 comparal)le beauty ai"e unrivaled by 

 even those feathered fairies of the Old 

 World whose small size and gorgeous 

 colors have won for them the name of 

 Sun-birds. 



A visitor to Southern California is 

 impressed with the large number of 

 Hummingbirds seen; in ever3' garden, 

 iield and canon, even in the shaded 

 depths of woodland districts and on the 

 bleak, inclement mountain summits, 

 these aerial gems, doubtless the most 

 gorgeously hued of created things, are 

 found in large numbers. In the vicin- 

 . ity of Santa Barbara, Anna's Humming- 

 bird is quite common; the male, Anna's 

 perched upon one of the uppermost 

 twigs of a tree is a familiar sight. Con- 

 scious of his ostentatious array, he sits 

 upon his swinging perch and proudly 

 scans the environs streatched Ijelovv in 

 their magnificent, semi-tropic splendor, 

 and soliloquizes in a creaking tone 

 while his coruscant gorget flashes with 

 fiery tints at every change of position 

 Suddenlj' from his lofty perch he sees 

 an enemy, real or imaginary, then high 

 he mounts on whirring winglets untiJ 

 all but lost in the azure depth, now 

 downward he plunges with inconceiv- 

 able speed — an iridescent spright of the 

 skies — describing an ellipse in his llight, 



I and when he nears his foe he gives ut- 

 I terance to a shrill shriek of hate and 

 defiance; as he rises again to repeat the 

 performance he poises for an instant to 

 locate his foe. These eft'orts usually 

 are of no avail and the Hummingbird, 

 seeing his opponent haughtily repudiat- 

 ing the assault, hies himself to a neigh- 

 boring tree where he consoles himself 

 by casting vague maledictions upon the 

 whole feathered tribe, excepting of 

 course himself and his inmiediate relat- 

 ives. 



Among the other common Hummers 

 of this vicinity are Allen's, Costa's, and 

 the Rufous. The latter frequents the 

 well watered canons where it appeals 

 as it darts hither and thither like the 

 reflections of many jewels. The Allen's 

 is a seclusive bird, the male is seldom 

 seen; the female may be seen flitting 

 about cypress hedges where the nests 

 are likely to be found. The Alexander 

 or Black - chinned Hummingl^ird is 

 found in this locality but not numerous- 

 ly as its habitat is further south. The 

 Callilope Hummingbird is a mountain 

 species and is only found in the high 

 altitudes. 



The nests of all species of Humming- 

 birds are arcliitectural models; they are 

 composed of fine materials and are 

 matle extremely soft and comfortable. 

 The complement of eggs is two. 



The identification of the mah^ l)irds is 

 an easy matter, the females, however, 

 will give tr()ul)le. There aie but tw() 

 Hummingljirds in California with me- 

 tallic scales on the top of the head, 

 these are Anna's and Costa's; and they 

 may be recognized readily by the dif- 

 ference in size and in the color of the 

 helmets, the Anna's l)eing larger than 

 the Costa's and the color of its hi^lmet 

 crimson; the color of the Costa's iielmet 

 is violet. The Rufous is easily recog- 



