THE MALE RUBY-THROAT. 139 



of his absence as being other than accidental, 

 and hence have never made any observations 

 directly upon the point; so that my testi- 

 mony is of comparatively little value. In 

 at least one instance, when the female was 

 building her nest, I remember to have seen 

 the male fly with her and perch near by, 

 while she was shaping the nest, and then fly 

 off with her after more material. I don't 

 like to believe that the little villain leaves 

 the entire task of nidification to his better 

 half (we may well call her better, if he does) ; 

 but my memory is a blank so far as testi- 

 mony affirmative of his devotion is con- 

 cerned." Mr. Henshaw recalls an experi- 

 ence with a nest of the Rivoli humming- 

 bird (Eugenes fulgens), in Arizona, a 

 nest which he spent two hours in getting. 

 "I was particularly anxious to secure the 

 male, but did not obtain a glimpse of him, 

 and I remember thinking that it was very 

 strange." He adds that Mr. C. W. Rich- 

 mond has told him of finding a nest and tak- 

 ing the eggs without seeing the father bird, 

 and sums up his own view of the matter 

 thus : 



"Had any one asked me offhand, 'Does 



