BIRDS'-NESTS. 133 



and found all but one egg hatched, the young inter- 

 loper was at least four times as large as either of the 

 others, and with such a superabundance of bowels as 

 to almost smother his bedfellows beneath them. That 

 the intruder should fare the same as the rightful oc- 

 cupants, and thrive with them, was more than ordi- 

 nary potluck ; but that it alone should thrive, devour- 

 ing, as it were, all the rest, is one of those freaks of 

 Nature in which she would seem to discourage the 

 homely virtues of prudence and honesty. Weeds and 

 parasites have the odds greatly against them, yet they 

 wage a very successful war nevertheless. 



The woods hold not such another gem as the nest 

 of the humming-bird. The finding of one is an event 

 to date from. It is the next best thing to finding an 

 eagle's nest. I have met with but two, both by chance. 

 One was placed on the horizontal branch of a chest- 

 nut-tree, with a solitary green leaf, forming a com- 

 plete canopy, about an inch and a half above it. The 

 repeated spiteful dartings of the bird past my ears, as 

 I stood under the tree, caused me to suspect that I 

 was intruding upon some one's privacy ; and follow- 

 ing it with my eye, I soon saw the nest, which was in 

 process of construction. Adopting my usual tactics 

 of secreting myself near by, I had the satisfaction of 

 seeing the tiny artist at work. It was the female un- 

 tssisted by her mate. At intervals of two or three 

 minutes she would appear with a small tuft of some 

 cottony substance in her beak, dart a few times through 

 and around the tree, and alighting quickly in the nest 



