162 THE HUMAN SIDE OF BIRDS 



they go to the bare tree, where they preen their 

 feathers and complete their toilette, after which 

 they fly away in pairs — to gather again the next 

 morning to dry their dew-drenched plumage in the 

 sun. Often at these parties the birds have been ob- 

 served to preen each other's feathers in quite a 

 friendly and efficient manner, not unlike our mod- 

 ern barbers and hair-dressers. 



Humming-birds are the most fastidious, the most 

 beautiful, and the most diminutive of all the feath- 

 ered tribe. Their native haunts are only in Amer- 

 ica, and chiefly in the parts of South America 

 where the climate is very warm. They fill the place 

 taken in the Old World by the sun-birds. In India 

 these sun-birds are often referred to as humming- 

 birds; but the real humming-birds are confined to 

 America. The brilliancy of their colours, the ele- 

 gance of their forms, and the manifold arrange- 

 ments and colour effects of their costumes is in- 

 describable. 



The broad-tailed humming-birds are most careful 

 about their toilette. Every morning they go to 

 bathe at daylight, however cold and damp the air 

 may be. They are fond of having party-baths, like 

 the old Romans, and may be seen in such numbers 

 as to remind one of a swarm of bees; hither and 

 thither they dart, in their rapid flight, dipping here 



