1 86 Birds Every Child Should Know 



outlet, for she is one of the most expert nest- 

 builders in the world. An exquisitely dainty 

 little cup of plant down, felted into a compact 

 cradle and stuccoed with bits of lichen bound on 

 by spider-web, can scarcely be told from a knot 

 on the limb to which it is fastened. Two eggs, 

 not larger than beans, in time give place to two 

 downy hummers about the size of honey-bees. 

 Perhaps you have seen pigeons pump food 

 down the throats of their squabs ? In this same 

 way are baby hummingbirds fed. After about 

 three weeks in the nest, the young are ready 

 to fly ; but they rest on perches the first month 

 of their independence more than at any time 

 afterward. No weak-footed relative of the 

 swift could live long off the wing. It is good- 

 bye to summer when the last hummingbird 

 forsakes our frost-nipped, northern gardens for 

 happier hunting grounds far away. 



