332 THE LIFE OF A BIRD. 



a friend. "It may interest you," writes Captain 

 Lyon, t( to have an account of some young hum- 

 ming-birds whose hatching and education I stu- 

 diously attended, as the nest was made in a little 

 orange-bush by the side of a frequented walk in 

 my garden. It was composed of the silky down 

 of a plant, and covered with small pieces of yellow 

 lichen. The first egg was laid January 26th, the 

 second on the 28th, and two little creatures like 

 bees made their appearance on the morning of 

 February 14th. As the young increased in size, 

 the mother built her nest higher and higher, so 

 that from having at first the form of figure 1, it 



Fig. 1. Fig. 2. 



became ultimately like figure 2. The old bird sat 

 very close during a continuance of the heavy rain 



