1SS4. 1 Barrows on B/rcfs of the Lo-ver llrusruay. 2 2 



On October 26, 1879. while vvatchino- a numlier of them as 

 thev passed from flower to flower in a Held fairly purple with 

 blossoms, I was startled by the peculiar hiss of a falliu"^ bird, and 

 a Sparrow Hawk {^Falco sparverius) ^ swept the grass a few yards 

 in front of me, having either struck at one of the Hummers or, 

 more probably, at a mouse among the grass. I'rom the velocity 

 of his plunge he shot upward to a height of 20 or 30 feet, empty 

 handed, but soon had his hands full, as three male Hummers 

 devoted themselves to him most unreservedly, and continued 

 their attentions — as was evident from the Hawk's motions — 

 long after their own tiny forms were lost to my siglit. 



Most of the birds have nests by the middle of November, but, 

 from their being placed very near the ground, many are doubtless 

 destroyed by various enemies, so that nests with eggs are not 

 uncommon late in December. 



I feel quite sure, however, that but one brood is reared each 

 season. Nearlv every garden has its nest, and often more than 

 one, almost invariablv built at the tip of one of the lowest, 

 drooping twigs of an orange tree, rarely more than three or four 

 feet from the ground. When built awav from human habitations 

 I found at least three-fourths of the nests under a kind of bushy 

 tree known as the Coronilla. I sav under this tree because the 

 lower branches usually start out from the main stem a foot or two 

 above the ground, while their tips sweep the earth, thus leaving 

 a dome-shaped open space beneath, whei"e there is always a shad- 

 owy half-light, and where on some slender, dependent twig the 

 nest is commonly placed. Among a score of nests found in such 

 situations only two or three were more than two feet from the 

 ground, and many were within twelve or fifteen inches of it. 

 The nests are exceedingly various in composition but always con- 

 sist .largely of soft cottony substances, with a lining of fine vege- 

 * table down, or fur from various small mammals. The outside is 

 made to "Miarmonize with its environment," sometimes by leaving 

 it unornamented, but oftener by the addition of moss, leaves, cob- 

 webs, paperv bark, etc., all attached verv looselv and giving a 

 most picturesque eft'ect. 



Tlie eggs in most cases were two in number, rarely of the same 

 size, and not always deposited on succes'sive days. A set before 

 me measure .51 in. bv .33 in., and .48 in. bv .32 in. I usually found 

 the female on the nest, or close bv, and do not remember e^er to 



