GREEN, GREENISH GRAY, AND OLIVE 419 
the thread of the Yucca. The mother was sitting; the 
nest was inside the garden fence ; a fierce dog guarded 
the premises, and the Mexican family were away cele- 
brating a church holiday. I could only admire from a 
distance, and, being unable to drive the mother from her 
post, did not ascertain whether eggs or young were the 
objects of her care. There was no question of identi- 
fication, though Costa’s hummingbird is more apt to 
build on cactus than this species. Another nest, found 
in the alders of a dry river bed, was quite unlike the 
first, and but for the father, who, contrary to humming- 
bird etiquette, sat within two feet of the brooding 
mother, I would not have attributed it to this species. 
The male was discovered first, and allowed me to walk 
up close to him before he took flight. In turning to 
follow him, I brushed against the branch on which the 
nest clung, and the female flew off just above my eyes. 
There were in the nest two newly hatched young, less 
than an inch long, and a third egg, probably a runt. 
The tiny cradle was woven of a pithy dark buff material 
that looked like the punk used by dentists, and was 
ornamented on the outside with willow buds. The 
question at once arose as to why this bird, building 
among the alders, had not used the willow down for its 
nest, as had the one who built in the cactus. A diligent 
search failed to reveal the source of the building material, 
and although I have since found several nests composed 
of it, I do not know where it is obtained. 
Like that of his Eastern cousin, the ruby-throated, as 
well as four varieties of California hummers, the wooing 
