HIDDEN TREASURE 97 



to celebrate my discovery of their world by granting 

 me seven days of nest-finding rarely vouchsafed even 

 to veteran ornithologists. 



It was at twilight, and I stood on the edge of an 

 old orchard where grew a white-oak tree. As I 

 looked away across the valley, I heard a humming 

 noise, and through the dimming light saw a tiny 

 bird buzzing through the air just overhead. As I 

 watched, she alighted on a long limb about ten feet 

 from the ground, and even an ignoramus like myself 

 could recognize the long curved beak of the humming- 

 bird. This one had a white instead of a crimson 

 throat, which, I was to learn, marked the female. 

 For an instant the little bird perched on the limb 

 just over my head, and then suddenly sidled toward 

 what seemed a tiny knot, but was not. Lest I be 

 betrayed into further puns unworthy the fair fame of 

 a bird-student, I hasten to add that I had found the 

 nest of a ruby-throated hummingbird. 



It was too dark that evening to examine it more 

 closely, but by sunrise the next morning I was on 

 the spot with a step-ladder, and with more delight 

 than I have ever had in a nest since, looked down 

 into the tiny lichen-covered, cobweb-stitched, thistle- 

 down-lined nest of this smallest of all our birds. 

 Within were two tiny white eggs. The opening of 

 the nest was just about the size of a quarter of a 

 dollar, and it did not seem possible that two little 

 birds could later be brooded and fed and reared in 

 such a tiny cradle. The nest itself was saddled on 

 the limb, which was perhaps four inches in diameter. 



