RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD 5 



velous ends of the great mother Nature ; for while 

 the plants supply them with food, they in turn 

 leave the flowers laden with rich pollen, carrying 

 it on their rounds, and leaving it where it will 

 give new life to other blossoms. 



How perfectly the little feathered messenger is 

 fitted for his task ! See the long bill that enables 

 him to probe the flower tubes. Watch him as he 

 feeds before a honeysuckle. There he stands as 

 steadily as though perched on a branch, held 

 up by the whirring mill fan-wings whose rapid 

 motion renders them almost invisible. What 

 power is lodged in those inch-long feathers ! In 

 autumn they will bear him away over rivers, over 

 mountains, far from the snow-covered north, to 

 the land of the orange and palm. 



In nature the race is to the swift, and surely 

 these little Hummingbirds are well fitted to com- 

 pete with their fellows. Even their dress is per- 

 fectly adapted to the conditions of their lives. 

 To attract the favor of his lady, the Hummingbird 

 wooer has a throat of flaming ruby ; while she, to 

 whom a flashing gorget would bring danger at 

 the nest, is clad in quiet green ; and the young, 

 untaught in the ways and dangers of the great 

 world, are dressed in the inconspicuous tints of 

 their mother. 



