UUMMIK G-BIRDS. 101 



birds. "When attending their young, they attack 

 any bird indiscriminately that approaches the nest. 

 Their motions, when under the influence of anger or 

 fear, are very violent, and their flights rapid as an 

 arrow. The eye cannot follow them, but the shrill 

 piercing shriek which they utter on the wing, may be 

 heard when the bird is invisible, and often led to their 

 destruction by preparing me for their approach. They 

 attack the eyes of the larger birds, and their sharp 

 needle-like bill is a truly formidable weapon in this 

 kind of warfare. Nothing can exceed their fierceness 

 when one of their own species invades their territory 

 during the breeding season ; under the influence of 

 jealousy they become perfect furies ; their throats swell ; 

 their crests, tails, and wings expand ; they fight in 

 the air, uttering a shrill noise, till one falls exhausted 

 to the ground/' And an older writer, Fernando 

 Oviedo, still farther confirms their boldness : " When 

 they see a man climb the tree where they have their 

 nests, they flee at his face, and stryke him in the eyes, 

 commying, goying, and returnying, with such swyft- 

 ness, that no man woulde ryghtly beleive it that hath 

 not seen it." 



The nests are built with great delicacy, but at the 

 same time with much compactness and warmth. 

 Wilson thus describes the situation and workmanship 

 of the northern, or ruby-throated humming-bird, and 

 which is also confirmed by Audubon. " It is generally 

 fixed on the upper side of a horizontal branch, not 

 among the twigs. Yet I have known instances where 



