EXPERIENCES WITH ''HUMMERS.' 



Did you ever hold a live hummingbird 

 in your hand? Well, I have held several 

 of the wee, wee creatures. Did you ever 

 look into a hummingbird's nest? Well, 

 I have peeped into several of the tiny, 

 downy affairs. 



Two of the nests contained eggs ; one 

 contained young birds. The eggs were 

 as small as an ordinary garden pea — per- 

 fectly egg-shaped. Can I describe the 

 young of the hummingbird? No, im- 

 possible. I can only say that they are the 

 smallest animal I ever saw in all my 

 life. Of course, that does not include 

 the insect world. 



I^ow did I contrive to get hold of a 

 live hummingbird? Easy enough when 

 you know how. 



One hot afternoon in June I was sit- 

 ting in a garden reading. A few yards 

 away stood a large bunch of brilliant car- 

 nations. Now, if there is anything which 

 a hummer fairly dotes on it is pinks. 

 Suddenly I heard a loud hum near by. 

 I looked toward the carnations, and, sure 

 enough, there were too hummingbirds 

 hovering around the flowers. 



I watched their movements for several 

 moments with great interest. Presently 

 I observed that one of the birds appeared 

 to be entangled. Its tongue, or long, 

 needle-like beak, was caught in some 

 manner in the petals of a large pink. The 

 little fellow kept fluttering around in a 

 helpless way, but could not liberate it- 

 self. 



Instantly I dropped the book and ran 

 over to the bed. The other hummingbird 

 darted away like a shot. I very softly 

 took the tiny prisoner in my hand and 

 then gently liberated it. For half a min- 

 ute or more I held the trembling, flutter- 

 ing creature in my hand. I wish I could 

 describe the beauty and brilliancy of its 

 plumage. Silk, velvet and the delicate 

 tints of the rainbow are the only adequate 

 words. Finally I released the prisoner. 

 In a flash he was out of sight. 



One good fright was enough. Neither 

 bird ever came back to the carnations 

 again. At least, the pinks were not vis- 

 ited by any more hummingbirds that sea- 

 son. 



Last summer I was out with a fishing 

 party. We went far back into the 

 mountains, where it was rugged, wild 

 and lonely. One day I was out fishing 

 along a rushing torrent. There was a 

 deep, swirling eddy where I was angling, 

 and just on the bank stood a small cedar 

 tree. A long, slender limb hung only a 

 few feet above my head. 



While I was fishing a hummingbird 

 came buzzing around my head. It kept 

 circling around me for some time. Fi- 

 nally I stopped fishing. Instantly the 

 bird alighted on a twig and eyed me close- 

 ly with its bright bead-like eye. A mo- 

 ment later the little mate arrived. 



"Surely there must be a nest near by," 

 I said to myself. Then I began fish- 

 ing. 



Both birds immediately came whirrmg 

 about my ears like two hornets. They 

 kept it up until I desisted. Then both 

 alighted and watched me sharply. Again 

 and again I tried to fish, but the little 

 creatures would give me no peace. 



Down I laid my rod and began to look 

 carefully for a nest. Sure enough, there 

 was one concealed amidst the cedar 

 boughs. It was right above my head 

 where I stood fishing. Very gently I 

 pulled the pendent branch down until I 

 could peep into the thimble of a nest, 

 which contained beautiful eggs. Mean- 

 time the birds kept buzzing around my 

 head in a most distracted manner. 



Having satisfied my curiosity I quietly 

 withdrew, to the evident delight of the 

 little parents. 



On another occasion I was out in an 

 orchard. I noticed two hummingbirds 

 flying around a certain apple tree limb. 

 As I approached the birds became more 

 excited When within a few yards of the 



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