A WIDOW AND TWINS. 119 



view. Possibly, as human infants get ex- 

 ercise by dandling on the mother's knee, the 

 baby humming-bird gets his by this paren- 

 tal kneading process. Whether brooding 

 or feeding, it must be said that the hummer 

 treated her tiny charges with no particular 

 careftdness, so far as an outsider could 

 judge. 



The next day I climbed again into the 

 tree. The mother bird made off at once, 

 and did not resume her seat for almost an 

 hour, though she would undoubtedly have 

 done so earlier but for my presence. Again 

 and again she perched near me, her bill 

 leveled straight at my face. Finally she 

 alighted on the nest, and, after considerable 

 further delay, as if to assure herself that 

 everything was quite safe, fed the two chicks 

 from her throat, as before. "She thrust 

 her bill into their mouths so far " (I quote 

 my notes) "that the tips of their short little 

 beaks were up against the root of her man- 

 dibles!" 



Only once more, on the 4th of July, I 

 ventured into the apple-tree. For more than 

 an hour and a half I waited. Times without 

 number the mother came buzzing into the 



