106 BIRDS OF THE ROCKIES 



Lincoln's sparrows, the robins and wrens, and several 

 other species, found in this spot a pleasant place to 

 live. One of the narrow valleys led directly up to the 

 base of the massive cone of the Peak, its stream fed by 

 the snow-fields shining in the sun. Going around by 

 the valley of Seven Lakes, I had walked down from the 

 summit, but nowhere had I seen the tiny hummer until 

 I reached the green nook just described. Still, he 

 sometimes ascends to an elevation of eleven thousand 

 feet above the level of the sea. 



Our feathered dot is gorgeous with his metallic green 

 upper parts, bordered on the tail with purplish black, 

 his white or grayish under parts, and his gorget of 

 purple which gleams in bright, varying tints in the 

 sun. He closely resembles our common ruby-throated 

 humming-bird, whose gorget is intense crimson instead 

 of purple, and who does not venture into the Rocky 

 Mountain region, but dwells exclusively in the eastern 

 part of North America. It is a little strange that the 

 eastern part of our country attracts only one species of 

 the large hummer family, while the western portion, 

 including the Rocky Mountain region, can boast of 

 at least seventeen different kinds as summer residents or 

 visitors. 



My attention was first directed to the broad-tailed 

 hummer by seeing him darting about in the air with 

 the swiftness of an arrow, sipping honey from the flower 



