304 LAND-BIRDS AND GAME-BIRDS 



in all their movements, that it is as difficult to observe them, 

 unless stationary or seemingly so, as to follow the course of a 

 shooting star. So rapid is the beating of their little pinions, 

 that they produce a loud humming whenever flying, and seem 

 to be immovable, when pausing before a flower, while the pres- 

 ence of their nearly invisible wings is scarcely indicated except 

 by the constant buzz and whirr. The Hummingbirds have two 

 distinct methods of feeding, easily observable upon studying 

 their habits. They may be seen darting from flower to flower, 

 and thrusting their long slender bills into the heart of the 

 blossoms, not only to procure the honey, but to obtain the 

 smaller insects which feed upon it. Of all the various flowers 

 which they visit, they show a marked fondness for those which 

 are trumpet-shaped, such as belong to the bignonia and honey- 

 suckle. They do not frequent the lower and more humble 

 kinds, but prefer those which are large and showy, and grow 

 on shrubs, bushes, and vines. The taller garden-flowers also 

 attract their attention. They are not wholly nectar-fed, as has 

 poetically and popularly been supposed to be the case, but are 

 chiefly insectivorous. They may be seen perched on some 

 twig, from which they shoot into the air, and with great address 

 seize the gnats and smaller irisects, many of which are invisible 

 to the naked human eye. They sometimes perch as if merely 

 to rest, the female especially. They never alight upon the 

 ground, but they sometimes perch upon weeds, and have been 

 known to perish from being caught in the burs of the burdock. 6 

 They choose for their haunts not only orchards, gardens, and 

 groves near them, but also forests, as I have several times 

 observed among the White Mountains. It is probable that 

 they much more often frequent the woods in civilized districts 

 than is commonly supposed. Though they are jealous, and 



e This fact has been communicated to the "Naturalist" by Mr. A. K. Fisher. 

 The original discoverer of the dead bird (or rather its remains, a skeleton) ''found 

 a live one on a plant near by." Mr. Fisher himself found a Yellow Bird (Cliryso- 

 mitris tristis) thus caught, who " tore itself away, leaving a number of its feathers 

 on the burs." He also found a Yellow-rumped Warbler "fastened to the same 

 kind of plant." 



