THE GOATSUCKERS, ETC. 141 



and soon after make a nest of little twigs glued to- 

 gether securely against the bricks. They are busy 

 enough when they have but themselves to feed, but 

 a little later, when the eggs are hatched, they have 

 more than double duty to perform, and from very 

 early morning until very late at night they zigzag the 

 air with tireless, rapid wing, and dart every few 

 minutes into the chimney to feed the young birds. 

 Perhaps they do get tired at times, for I have fancied 

 they twitter less constantly then than in August or 

 September when the young can take care of them- 

 selves, there are two broods, and it is during clear 

 September sunny afternoons and after sundown that 

 these swifts show us what flight really means. They 

 have aerial races then, generally three joining in the 

 sport, and the celerity with which they dash down the 

 pathless highways of the upper air is simply marvel- 

 lous, and the faster they fly the louder they twitter. 

 The food of these birds is, of course, insects, and 

 the number they destroy in the course of a season is 

 simply incalculable. 



Early in May, when we begin to look for wild 

 flowers in abundance and the fruit-trees are in bloom, 

 the Humming-bird suddenly puts in an appearance 

 and adds a charm to the landscape that remains until 

 October I. They feed upon small insects and not 

 wholly upon nectar, as is popularly supposed, and yet 

 sweets are not by any means unacceptable. They are 

 hot-headed little fellows and fight most fiercely at 

 times, even occasionally with fatal results. They are 

 not exactly gregarious and yet a good many will be 

 found together. My study window that I at present 



