556 



The Roller-like Birds 



birds cannot or do not sing. The Alice's Hummer (Amazilia alicice) has a 

 well-marked and strong song of three notes, repeated a varying number of times, 

 and the little Atala's Emerald (Chlorostilbon caribcea) has a more varied though 

 much weaker song, but the Buff-breasted Hummer is a nightingale compared 

 to them. In singing they perch upon some prominent twig and elevate their 

 beaks. The notes can be heard at a distance, and I quickly found that the 

 easiest way to get specimens was to wait until one was heard singing and then go 

 at once to the spot. In this way I secured some twenty and could easily have 



gotten many more. As among the last only 

 two were females, I think that the males 

 alone sing." 



Food. It is popularly supposed that 

 the food of Hummingbirds consists entirely 

 of nectar or honey which is "gathered from 

 every opening flower." This is not the 

 case, for while nectar may be an important 

 item of their food, it was established long 

 ago that insects make up a large part of it. 

 Alfred Russel Wallace, the great traveler- 

 naturalist, says: "In dozens and perhaps 

 hundreds of flower-frequenting species which 

 I have examined, the crop, stomach, and 

 intestines have been entirely filled with 

 minute beetles, bees, ants, and spiders, 

 which abound in most flowers in South 

 America. Very rarely, indeed, have I found 

 a trace of honey or of any liquid in the crops 

 or stomachs." Young birds of the Ruby- 

 throated Hummingbirds only twenty-four 

 hours old have been dissected and found 

 gorged with minute spiders, and many other 

 instances might be given of their liking for 

 insect food ; in fact, there is one group of 

 Hummers that do not visit flowers at all, 

 but spend their lives gleaning among the leaves high up among the treetops. 

 On the other hand, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird has lived in captivity 

 for more than a month without insect food of any kind, having been fed 

 exclusively on sweetened water. From the fact, however, that they cannot be 

 kept alive beyond a few weeks when fed on syrup, it would imply that some- 

 thing essential was absent from their food. The attempt has been made to 

 take them alive to England, but never successfully, as they all died within a 

 few days after reaching there. Even taking them so short a distance as from 

 South America to Jamaica resulted in their death. 



The method of feeding the young, as observed in the Ruby-throat, is very 

 interesting. The old bird alights on the edge of the nest and inserts her bill 



FlG. 167. Racket-tailed Humming- 

 bird, Steganura underwoodii. 



