MY HUMMING BIEDS. Ill 



peared to notice. We moved closer to watch them to better 

 advantage, and, in doing so, changed our relative position 

 to the sun. At once the thing was revealed to me. I 

 caught friend Euby in the very act of abstracting a small 

 spider, with the point of his long beak, from the centre of 

 one of those beautiful circular webs of the garden spider, 

 that so abounds throughout the South. The thing was done 

 so daintily, that he did not stir the dew-drops which, now 

 glittering in the golden sun, revealed the gossamer tracery 

 all diamond-strung. 



" Hah 1 we've got your secret, my friends! Hah! ha, 

 hah I" 



And we clapped and danced in triumph. Our presence 

 did not disturb them in the least, and we watched them 

 catching spiders for half an hour. They frequently came 

 within two feet of our faces, and we could distinctly see 

 them pluck the little spider from the centre of its wheel 

 were it lies, and swallow it entire. After this we let them 

 out daily, and, although we watched them closely and with 

 the most patient care, we never could see them touch the 

 spiders again, until the usual interval of about a fortnight had 

 elapsed, when they attacked them again as vigorously as ever 

 but the foray of one morning seemed to suffice. We 

 also observed them carefully, to ascertain whether they ate 

 any other insects than these spiders but, although we 

 brought them every variety of the smallest and most ten- 

 der that we could find, they did not notice them at all 

 but if we would shut them up past the time, until they began 

 to look drooping, and then bring one of those little spiders 

 along with other small insects, they would snap up the spider 

 soon enough, but pay no attention to the others. 



We were thoroughly convinced, after careful experiment 

 upon two families of them, that they neither live entirely 

 upon the nectar of flowers as all the old naturalists sup- 

 posed nor upon various small insects in addition to the 

 nectar, as Mr. Audubon asserts. The fact is, they can live 



