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NESTING HABITS OF THE HUMMING-BIRD 



(TROCHILUS COLUBRIS}. 



By Prof. William Macfarland.=:= 



In his enchanting little volume entitled * Wake Eobin,' John 

 Burroughs says : — " The woods hold not such another gem as the 

 nest of the Humming-bird (Trochilas colabris). The finding of 

 one is an event to date from. It is the next best thing to finding 

 an Eagle's nest. I have met with but two, both by chance." 

 Having found three nests, one more than Mr. Burroughs, it is 

 hoped I may be pardoned for feeling somewhat elated over my 

 good luck. 



By the side of my house stand two large maples, through the 

 branches of which I noticed a Humming-bird come and go 

 several times. Following her closely, I discovered the nest 

 while she was in the act of feeding the young. This was 

 August 22nd, 1883, The position of the nest was on a pendent 

 limb about fifteen feet above the ground. From an upper window 

 it could be looked into with an opera-glass, and all the details 

 made out. The young were well pin-feathered, but the beaks 

 were quite short. It being my vacation, I spent much time near 

 the nest, where I could frequently see the female, but the male 

 as yet eluded me entirely. The weather was fair until August 

 26th, when just before noon a cold easterly storm set in, 

 accompanied by high wind. During this storm, which lasted 

 until midnight, the young were entirely unprotected. They lay 

 close in the nest, and seemed lifeless, while the long slender 

 limb, on the lower end of which the nest was placed, swa3'ed 

 several feet in various directions, seemingly making it impossible 

 for anything to remain in the nest. 



The next morning the sun shone brightly, and I was gratified 

 to find that the birds had not only not perished, as seemed to be 

 their destiny, but were animated and vigorous. By the last day 

 of August they were fledged, and the beaks were quite mature. 

 They seemed very active, and were now too large for the nest, 

 constantly crowding each other over the edge, on which they 

 would sit or stand a part of the time and exercise themselves by 



- From ' The Journal of the Trenton [N. J.] Nat. Hist. Society,' 1887, 

 pp. 55—58. 



