36 THE RUBY-THROATED HUMMING-BIRD. 



joyfully to the top of a tree, and, perching 

 on a branch, began to dress its plumage. 



The rays of the sun had restored the 

 bird to life. 



The nest of the Kuby-throated Hum- 

 ming-Bird is the most delicate fabric that 

 ever was seen. The outside is made of 

 the same gray old lichen that coats over 

 the branch where the tiny nest is fixed. 

 The bird works with such skill that it 

 contrives to make the nest look as if it 

 were part of the branch. The atoms of 

 lichen that it uses are gummed together 

 with saliva. The next coating is of some 

 silky down it has picked up ; and the 

 innermost lining of all is of the softest 

 fibres of plants, that make a silken couch 

 for the eggs to lie upon. 



^ 



