RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD 139 



seen by the average observer, as they are seldom still 

 when within close range. From the bird tent, for the 

 first time, I got a good look at the feet of a living Hum- 

 mingbird, and such diminutive naked ankles and bare 

 feet as they have ! The foot is a perfect anatomical foot 

 of a perching bird. 



When one beholds these four-inch mites of the bird 

 kingdom and compares them with the great Condor, the 

 Ostrich, the Eagle or the Man-o-war bird with its eight 

 feet of wing-spread, one can only marvel at the disparity 

 in size, and the kind and quantity of food consumed by 

 each. Just imagine the graceful poise of the Eagle as, 

 without effort, it soars high in the heavens, and compare 

 it with the halo of invisible vibrations of the wings of 

 the tiniest of our birds. Then view the exquisite shimmer 

 of the Hummingbirds in their floral settings and you 

 will not dispute their right to the title, " Jewels of the 

 Bird Creation.'* 



The first day I arrived off the coast of Laguna de la 

 Madre, in Texas, I was much surprised at the vast num- 

 ber of Ruby-throats. They were whizzing in all direc- 

 tions, as they flew from flower to flower. Many of the 

 birds had the black gorgets of the Black-chinned, or Alex- 

 ander 's Hummingbird. I hunted faithfully for a nest, 

 but failed to find one in the locality. 



My first nest was found in Missouri, on an apple 

 limb six feet from the ground. Daily I visited this nest, 

 being careful to avoid disturbing the mother bird. One 

 day when I peeped into the nursery I beheld two naked, 

 helpless atoms, looking as little like their beautiful 

 feathered parents as possible. Without form, with big 

 heads, and with dimmed darkened areas the location of 

 their eyes, they resembled a young drone bee, or anything 

 else, rather than a bird. 



What a change in the appearance of these babies a 

 few days made ! At the end of ten days the young birds 

 were partly feathered and had increased several times 

 in bodily weight. At the end of four weeks they were 

 snugly packed into the little cup-shaped nest, fully 

 feathered, and were making preparations for breaking 

 home ties. With vibrating wings and much ado these 

 pygmies perched on the rim of the cup and made their 

 first effort to fly a few feet and perch a short time before 



