228 THE RUBY-THROATED HUMMING-BIRD. 



Thus in less than an hour this apparently tameless rider of the winds was perched 

 pleasantly clinging to my finger, and received its food with edifying eagerness from my 

 -sister's hand. It seemed completely domesticated from the moment that a taste of its 

 natural food reassured it, and left no room to doubt our being friends. By the next day 

 it would come from any part of either room, alight upon the side of a white china cup 

 containing the mixture, and drink eagerly, with its long bill thrust into the very base, 

 after the manner of pigeons. It would alight on our fingers, and seem to talk with us 

 endearingly in its soft chirps. Indeed, I never saw any creature so thoroughly tamed in 

 so short a while." 



The writer then proceeds to remark, that after he had kept the bright little thing for 

 three weeks, it began to droop daily, so that he was obliged to let it fly at liberty. As 

 soon as the window was opened, the bird darted out like a rubj meteor, and vanished 

 immediately from sight. In hopes of attracting him back again, the two enthusiasts 

 prepared a fresh cup of nectar, hung the cage with flowers, and placing the cage and cup 

 invitingly in the window, retired to a distance and waited patiently. After watching in 

 vain for a whole hour, they were just about to give up the point in despair, when they saw 

 their pet Ruby-throat hovering before the window. 



"The little fellow was darting to and fro in front of his cage, as if confused for a 

 moment by the flower dressing ; but the white cup seemed to overcome his doubts very 

 quickly, and with fluttering hearts we saw him settle upon the cup as of old, and while he 

 drank we rushed lightly forward on tiptoe to secure him. We were quite rebuked for our 

 want of faith, threw open the door again, and let him have the rest of the day to himself." 



One of the most curious circumstances connected with a family of Kuby-throated 

 Humming-birds which Mr. Webber succeeded in domesticating was, that after they had 

 left the country at the ordinary migrating season, they retained the memory of their kind 

 entertainers, and, on the return of spring, flew straight to the well-known window. As 

 soon as the white cup was placed in the room, the birds, as if they had been only waiting 

 for its appearance, dashed through the casement, and plunging their beaks into the syrup, 

 drank long draughts of its welcome nectar. By degrees they found mates, and brought 

 their companions to partake of the same hospitality, until at last there was quite a 

 company of these exquisite little creatures, who brought their friends and families to the 

 familiar feast. 



Mr. Webber also discovered a curious habit connected with their nesting. He had 

 frequently observed, while watching for their nest, that the Ruby-throats, after leaving his 

 station, shot suddenly and perpendicularly in the air, until they became invisible. At last 

 he had the great satisfaction of seeing the female bird fall, like a fiery aerolite from the 

 sky, upon the spot where she had built her nest ; so that this curious habit of ascending 

 and descending must have been instinctively taught to the birds for the purpose of 

 concealing the precise position of the nest. 



As to the nest itself, an admirable description is given by Audubon. Here I must 

 pause for a moment, to explain the reason why there will be so many quotations in the 

 history of the Humming-birds. These little creatures exist only in exotic lands, and on 

 that account are not very accessible to the English naturalist, who is debarred from a 

 personal acquaintance with these most exquisite of birds. He must, therefore, rely entirely 

 on the accounts of those who have seen them and studied their habits, and whose personal 

 narratives are so far superior to any abstract or paraphrase, that, in justice to the author, 

 they ought to be given in his own words. 



" The nest of this Humming-bird," says Audubon, " is of the most delicate nature, the 

 external parts being formed of a light grey lichen found on the branches of trees or on 

 decayed fence-rails, and so neatly arranged round the whole nest, as well as to some 

 distance from the spot where it is attached, as to seem part of the branch or stem itself. 

 These little pieces of lichen are glued together by the saliva of the bird. 



The nest-coating consists of cottony substances, and the innermost of silky fibres 

 obtained from various plants, all extremely delicate and soft. On this comfortable bed, as 

 if in contradiction to the axiom that the smaller the species the greater the number of 

 eggs, the female lays only two, which are purely white and nearly oval. Ten days aia 



