THE RUBY-THROATED HUMMING BIRD. 



Is it a gem, half bird, 

 Or is it a bird, half gem ? 



EDGAR FAWCETT. 



F all animated beings this is 

 the most elegant in form 

 and the most brilliant in 

 colors, says the great nat- 

 uralist Buffbn. The stones 

 and metals polished by our arts are 

 not comparable to this jewel of Nature. 

 She has it least in size of the order of 

 birds, maxime miranda in minimis. Her 

 masterpiece is the Humming-bird, and 

 upon it she has heaped all the gifts 

 which the other birds may only share. 

 Lightness, rapidity, niuibleness, grace, 

 and rich apparel all belong to this 

 little favorite. The emerald, the ruby, 

 and the topaz gleam upon its dress. 

 It never soils them with the dust of 

 earth, and its aerial life scarcely 

 touches the turf an instant. Always 

 in the air, flying from flower to flower, 

 it has their freshness as well as their 

 brightness. It lives upon their nectar, 

 and dwells only in the climates where 

 they perennially bloom. 



All kinds of Humming-birds are 

 found in the hottest countries of the 

 New World. They are quite numer- 

 ous and seem to be confined between 

 the two tropics, for those which pene- 

 trate the temperate zones in summer 

 stay there only a short time. They 

 seem to follow the sun in its advance 

 and retreat ; and to fly on the zephyr 

 wing after an eternal spring. 



The smaller species of the Hum- 

 ming-birds are less in size than the 

 great fly wasp, and more slender than 

 the drone. Their beak is a fine needle 

 and their tongue a slender thread. 

 Their little black eyes are like two 

 shining points, and the feathers of 

 their wings so delicate that they seem 

 transparent. Their short feet, which 

 they use very little, are so tiny one 

 can scarcely see them. They rarely 

 alight during the day. They have a 



swift continual humming flight. The 

 movement of their wings is so rapid 

 that when pausing in the air, the bird 

 seems quite motionless. One sees him 

 stop before a blossom, then dart like .a 

 flash to another, visiting all, plunging 

 his tongue into their hearts, flattening 

 them with his wings, never settling 

 anywhere, but neglecting none. He 

 hastens his inconstancies only to pur- 

 sue his loves more eagerly and to 

 multiply his innocent joys. For this 

 light lover of flowers lives at their 

 expense without ever blighting them. 

 He only pumps their honey, and for 

 this alone his tongue seems designed. 



The vivacity of these small birds is 

 only equaled by their courage, or 

 rather their audacity. Sometimes 

 they may be seen furiously chasing- 

 birds twenty times their size, fastening 

 upon their bodies, letting themselves 

 be carried along in their flight, while 

 they peck fiercely until their tiny rage 

 is satisfied. Sometimes they fight 

 each other vigorously. Impatience 

 seems their very essence. If they ap- 

 proach a blossom and find it faded, 

 they mark their spite by a hasty rend- 

 ing of the petals. Their only voice is 

 a weak cry of Screp, screp, frequent 

 and repeated, which they utter in the 

 woods from dawn until at the first rays 

 of the sun they all take flight and 

 scatter over the country. 



The Ruby-throat is the only native 

 Humming-bird of eastern North 

 America, where it is a common sum- 

 mer resident from May to October, 

 breeding from Florida to Labrador. 

 The nest is a circle an inch and a half 

 in diameter, made of fern wood, plant 

 down, and so forth, shingled with 

 lichens to match the color of the 

 branch on which it rests. Its only 

 note is a shrill, mouse-like squeak. 



97 



