192 KNOWING BIRDS THROUGH STORIES 



or the martin. In fact he seems to have a special grudge 

 against those two birds, and my ruby throats would not 

 allow the kingbirds to come into that part of the yard at 

 all. If perchance Jerry happened to venture into his do- 

 main, before he knew it Mr. Rubythroat was upon him. 

 Quicker than a flash he would strike with his sharp bill 

 again and again. His tactics were even more aggressive 

 than those of the kingbird himself; and since he was so 

 small and so very active, Jerry had a bitter taste of the 

 medicine he so delighted to give Jim Crow and the old 

 brown tailed chicken hawk. When I was among the 

 plum trees my birds were very uneasy indeed, flashing 

 about my head and squeaking but never daring to strike. 

 Sometimes they would alight within two or three feet of me 

 and squeak and fuss, all of which led me to think that 

 the nest was close. 



Since I have been grown I have had the privilege of 

 watching humming birds build their nests. The ordinary 

 nest of this bird is built of down and soft vegetable sub- 

 stances and is covered on the outside with lichens. I have 

 known of but one nest that contained hairs. These 

 lichens are carefully picked from the limbs of trees and 

 match their surroundings so well that the nest is hard to 

 find. I am quite sure now that my humming birds nested 

 for several years on a half dead limb on one of the plum 

 trees that was covered for several feet with a growth of 

 lichens. I never dared climb this limb for fear it would 

 break, and evidently my eye could not distinguish between 

 the lichens which covered the nest and those growing on 

 the limb. Another thing that makes a humming bird's 

 nest so difficult to find is the fact that the bird rises high 

 in the air when she starts to her nest and when she 



