THE ANNA HUMMING-BIRD. 179 



in midwinter. When it storms, we cover the 

 nests with parasols or cloth, and the mother seems 

 to understand. 



It is said that a humming-bird can be fright- 

 ened to death if caught. We never try to catch 

 them in the garden. Once a male flew in at the 

 window, and persisted in flying about the ceiling. 

 We could only catch it with a broom, very gently. 

 When we took it up, it lay on its back as if dead. 

 We took it outdoors, and it opened one eye. 

 Then as quick as a flash it flew away. Some 

 birds, and many insects and animals, do " play 

 dead." It has been said that when a man is 

 attacked by wild animals like tigers, he is safe if 

 he, too, "plays 'possum." So the humming-bird 

 possesses the instinct of "playing 'possum" for 

 good reasons. But this is only when they have 

 not been tamed at all. Those birds which come 

 to know us in the garden allow us to touch them, 

 or even to break the twig on which they sit and 

 carry it away. But if we touch them, it is ever so 

 lightly. We do not grasp them. That would 

 make them afraid, and spoil the fun of having 

 them so trustful. 



Humming-birds do not thrive in confinement. 

 They are never seen on the ground. At nesting- 

 time the mother comes to a pile of old, slacked 



