MY HUMMING BIEDS. 119 



have no control, or have we told the history of beings pos- 

 sessing memory in common with man gratitude, whether 

 in common with him or not faith, affection, bravery a 

 small touch of the loafer, as witnessed in their affection for 

 the white cup with its brimming bowl, in preference to the 

 meagre and bee-rifled chalices of flowers a remarkable de- 

 gree of caution in hiding their nests of cunning in going to 

 and from them of mechanical and artistic skill in construct- 

 ing their wonderful homes of judgment in placing them 

 over the water of sagacity in using their acute senses to 

 guide them back and forth on their two long yearly pil- 

 grimages ? These are questions the learned will have to 

 meet one day ! 



I ventured to suggest, in the first part of this article, that 

 the scarlet or ruby-throated humming bird has been con- 

 founded with another variety, which I have named the 

 Emerald or green-backed humming bird. They are both very 

 common north of Florida, and, indeed, the ruby-throat is 

 said to be the only variety which visits us at the North. 

 The Emerald humming bird resembles the old female of the 

 ruby -throated bird, or scarlet-throat, as we have called it 

 from the predominance of that blazing hue in the changing 

 splendors of its throat ! The green birds resemble, also, the 

 young female of the ruby -throat and hence the confusion. 

 The points of distinction, however, are clear enough, when 

 the attention has been once attracted toward noting them. 

 The two families of my pets belonged to the two varieties, 

 and, therefore, I had ample opportunity of careful compari- 

 son. The female of all humming birds is the largest ; 

 well, in the matter of size, I found the difference to be this 

 the female of the ruby-throat is of the same size with the 

 male of the green while the female of the green is nearly 

 one-third larger. The throat of the male of the green is 

 always a pure, clear white, while the plumage of the back 

 is a darker and more resplendent green. The throat of the 

 ruby, during the first year, is distinctly marked a grayish 



