24 A-BIRDING ON A BRONCO. 



While she was on the nest, there was an ap- 

 proaching whirr, followed by a retreating buzz — 

 had the father bird started to come to the nest 

 and fled at sight of me ? Remembering the evi- 

 dence Bradford Torrey collected to prove that the 

 male bird is rarely seen at the nest, I wondered 

 if his absence might be explained by his usually 

 noisy flight, for it would attract the notice of man 

 or beast. 



Two days later I carefully touched the tip of 

 my finger to the back of one of the tiny humming- 

 birds, — it was very skinny, I regret to state, — 

 and at my touch the little thing opened its wee 

 bill for food. That day the mother fed the frrds 

 in the regulation way, when we were only four 

 feet distant. I was near enough to see all the 

 horrors of the performance. She thrust her bill 

 down their throats till I felt like crying out, " For 

 mercy's sake, forbear ! " She plunged it in up to 

 the very hilt ; it seemed as if she must puncture 

 their alimentary canals. 



While waiting for the wrens, I buckled Billy's 

 bridle around the sycamore and threw myself 

 down on the warm sand under the beautiful tree. 

 The little horse stood near, outlined against the 

 blue sky, with the sunlight dappling his back, 

 while I looked up into the light green foliage of 

 the white sycamore overhead. There seemed to 

 be a great deal of light stored in these delicate 

 trees. The undersides of the big, soft, white leaves 



