Ruby-throated Hummingbird 185 



Monarda or bee-balm, too, hides a sweet sip 

 in each of its red tubes for his special benefit. 

 So does the coral honeysuckle. There are a 

 few other flowers that cater to him, especially, 

 by wearing his favourite colour, by hiding 

 nectar so deep that only his long tongue can 

 drain it, and by opening in orderly succession 

 so that he shall fare well throughout the sum- 

 mer, not have a feast one month and a famine 

 the next. In addition to these flowers in 

 Nature's garden that minister to his needs, 

 many that have been brought from the ends of 

 the earth to our garden plots please him no less. 

 The canna, nasturtium, phlox, trumpet-flower, 

 salvia, and a host of others, delight his eye and 

 his palate. Don't you think it is worth while 

 to plant his favourites in your garden if only 

 for the joy of seeing him about? He is wonder- 

 fully neighbourly, coming to the flower-beds 

 or window-boxes with imdaunted familiarity 

 in the presence of the family. A hummingbird 

 that lived in my garden sipped from a sprig of 

 honeysuckle that I held in my hand. But the 

 bird is not always so amiable by any means. A 

 fierce duellist, he will Itmge his rapier-Hke bill 

 at another hummer with deadly thrusts. A 

 battle of the midgets in mid-air is a sorry sight. 

 You may know a male by the brilliant 

 metallic-red feathers on his throat. His mate 

 lacks these, but her brilliancy has another 



