BIRDS AND ALL NATURE. 



ILLUSTRATED BY COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY, 



VOL. VI. 



NOVEMBER, 1899. 



No. 4 



A RARE HUMMING BIRD, 



HOW ONE OF THESE LITTLE FAIRY CREATURES WAS TAMED. 



P. W. H. 



INSTANCES are very rare where 

 birds are familiar with ' human 

 beings, and the humming hirds 

 especially are considered unap 

 proachable, yet a naturalist tells how 

 he succeeded in catching one in his 

 hand. Several cases are on record of 

 attempts to tame humming birds, but 

 when placed in a cage they do not 

 thrive, and soon die. The orange 

 groves of southern California abound 

 in these attractive creatures, and sev 

 eral can often be seen about the flow 

 ering bushes, seeking food or chasing 

 each other in play. "Once, when liv 

 ing on the slopes of the Sierra Madre 

 mountains, where they were very plen 

 tiful, I accomplished the feat of taking 

 one in my hand," says the naturalist. 



"I first noticed it in the garden, rest 

 ing on a mustard stalk, and, thinking 

 to see how near I could approach, I 

 gradually moved toward it by pretend 

 ing to be otherwise engaged, until I 

 was within five feet of it. The bird 

 .looked at me calmly and I moved 

 slowly nearer, whistling gently to at 

 tract its attention, as I began to think 

 something was the matter with it. It 

 bent its head upon one side, eyed .me 

 sharply, then flew to another stalk a 

 few feet away, contemplating me as be 

 fore. Again I approached, taking care 

 not to alarm it, and this time I was 

 almost within reaching distance before 

 it flew away. The bird seemed to have 

 a growing confidence in me, and I be 

 came more and more deliberate in my 

 movements until I finally stood beside 



it, the little creature gazing at me with 

 its head tipped upon one side as if 

 questioning what I was about. I then 

 withdrew and approached again, re 

 peating this several times before I 

 stretched out my hand to take it, at 

 which it flew to another bush. But the 

 next time it allowed me to grasp it, and 

 I had caught a wild bird open-handed 

 without even the use of salt!" 



One of the curious features of hum 

 ming birds is that they are never found 

 in Europe, being exclusively American, 

 ranging in this country from the ex 

 treme north to the tropics, adding to 

 the beauty of field and grove, being 

 veritable living gems. Nothing -can 

 approach the humming bird in its gor- 

 geousness of decoration. It is espe 

 cially rich in the metallic tints, seem 

 ingly splashed with red, blue, green, 

 and other bronzes. Some appear to be 

 decked in a coat of mail, others blazing 

 in the sunlight with head-dresses and 

 breast-plates that are dazzling to be 

 hold and defy description. The small 

 est of birds, they are one of the most 

 beautiful of the many ornaments of our 

 fields and gardens. 



In some islands of the south Pacific 

 birds have been found that had never 

 seen a man before, and allowed them 

 selves to be picked up, and even had to 

 be pushed out of peoples' way, it is 

 said, yet they must have been very un 

 like the birds that are generally known, 

 or they would have been more timid, 

 even if they had not learned the fear of 

 man. 



145 



