THE MALE RUBY-THROAT. 139 
of his absence as being other than accidental, 
and hence have never made any observations 
directly upon the point; so that my testi- 
mony is of comparatively little value. In 
at least one instance, when the female was 
building her nest, I remember to have seen 
the male fly with her and perch near by, 
while she was shaping the nest, and then fly 
off with her after more material. I don’t 
like to believe that the little villain leaves 
the entire task of nidification to his better 
half (we may well call her better, if he does); 
but my memory is a blank so far as testi- 
mony affirmative of his devotion is con- 
cerned.”” Mr. Henshaw recalls an experi- 
ence with a nest of the Rivoli humming- 
bird (Hugenes fulgens), in Arizona, —a 
nest which he spent two hours in getting. 
“JT was particularly anxious to secure the 
male, but did not obtain a glimpse of him, 
and I remember thinking that it was very 
strange.” He adds that Mr. C. W. Rich- 
mond has told him of finding a nest and tak- 
ing the eggs without seeing the father bird, 
and sums up his own view of the matter 
thus : — 
“Had any one asked me offhand, ‘Does 
