212 LIFE HISTORIES OF NOETH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



and go to water at daylight, no matter liow cold the weather is. During the 

 jnonth of August, and particularly the first half of the month, when the morn- 

 ings were often frost)^, hundreds of them came to the s^jring to drink and bathe 

 at break of day. They were like a swarm of bees, buzzing about one's head 

 and darting to and fro in every direction. The air was full of them. They 

 would drop down to the water, dip their feet and bellies, and rise and shoot 

 away as if propelled by an unseen power. They would often dart at the face 

 of an intruder as if bent on piercing the eye with their needle-like bill, and 

 then poise for a moment almost within reach before turning-, when they were 

 again lost in the busy throng. Whether this act was prompted by curiosity or 

 resentment I was not able to ascertain. Several were seen at the summit of the 

 mountain during the latter part of August. They were found also at the Grand 

 Canyon of the Colorado September 12 to 15. They began to leave the moun- 

 tain during the first week in September, and none were seen after the middle of 

 the month." 



The flowers of the Scroplmlaria, Ocotilla, Agave americana, and numerous 

 others, have great attractions for them owing to the quantities of small insects 

 which they harbor. In the more southern portions of their range nidification 

 commences late in April or the beginning of May, but most of these early sets are 

 generally overlooked, while the second sets are usually laid about the first two 

 weeks in June, and nesting continues throughout July in portions of their range. 

 Mr. Robert Ridgway obtained two nests of this species with eggs in Parley's 

 Park, Utah, on July 23, 1869; they were placed in willows growing beside a 

 stream. 



Nests from different localities vary considerably in make-up as well as in 

 size. Nests saddled on good-sized limbs, like those often found in the moun- 

 tains of Colorado, are occasionally almost as large again as others placed on 

 small twigs. One now before me. from the Ralph collection, taken by Mr. 

 William G. Smith, at Pinewood, Colorado, on June 23, 1892, measures 2 inches 

 in outer diameter by 1§ inches in depth, while one taken by Mr. Ridgwa}^, in 

 Parley's Park, Utah, on July 23, 1869, measures only 1| by 1 inch outside 

 measurement. The difference in size of the inner cups of these two nests is even 

 more noticeable, the former measuring 1 inch by three-fourths of an inch, the 

 latter three-fouiths by one-half of an inch. While the walls of both of these 

 nests are mainly composed of willow or cottonwood down, their outer covering 

 is entirely dissimilar. The outside of the larger one is profusely covered Avith 

 small bits of lichens, like the nest of the Ruby-throat; the smaller one is deco- 

 rated with shreds of bark, fine leaves, and dry plant fibers, resembling more 

 the nests of Costa's Hummingbird in this respect. The radical difference in the 

 appearance of the nests is far greater than my simple description would indicate, 

 and the specimens themselves must be seen to have this difference fully appre- 

 ciated. There is no doubt whatever of the correct identification of both, but 

 their nests evidently vary greatly in different localities, and while frequently 

 one can form a pretty good guess as to what species certain Hummingbirds' 



