HUMMING BIRDS. 353 



wonder, inasmuch as they never lay more than two eggs, and 

 in all probability do not rear more than three, or perhaps four, 

 young in the course of a season. 



The general habits of this tiny bird are well worthy of notice, 

 but at present we must content ourselves with it as it appears 

 in Its nest-making capacity. Being a very small bird, only 

 three inches and a half in total length, and very slenderly made, 

 the nest is necessarily small. But, although we so often find 

 that little birds build large nests, we cannot but notice that the 

 nest of this Humming Bird is even smaller than the size of its 

 occupant seems to require. It is round, neatly made, and has 

 thick walls and a small hollow. 



The bird has a wonderful power of concealing the nest, which 

 cannot be discovered except by a practised nest-hunter, so 

 closely does it resemble a knob upon a branch. So careful, 

 too, is the female of her home, that she does not fly straight to 

 it, but rises high in the air, and then darts down among the 

 branches with such rapidity that the eye cannot follow her 

 movements, and she is fairly seated in her nest before the spec- 

 tator knows exactly in which direction she has gone. 



This curious trait seems to have been discovered by Mr. 

 C. W. Webber. He had successfully tamed some Ruby-throats, 

 and determined to find a nest, so that he might obtain the 

 young. After finding that a pair of Humming Birds had been 

 seen near a certain spot on a river, he set himself determinately 

 to discover the nest. By degrees they were watched to a point 

 of the river, but there they always disappeared, as they had a 

 habit of shooting perpendicularly into the air until their tiny 

 bodies were lost to sight. At last, however, the patient 

 watchfulness of the observer was rewarded by catching a 

 glimpse of the female bird, as she descended perpendicularly 

 fi-om the height to which she had risen, and in this manner was 

 the nest discovered. 



The same agreeable writer relates an anecdote respecting the 

 discovery of a nest belonging to the Emerald-throated Humming 

 Bird, an edifice which is very similar to that which is made by 

 the Ruby-throat. He had been in vain looking for a nest. 



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