92 



THE NIDIOLOGIST. 



Field; Forest and Stream; and he is one of 

 the editois of The Great Divide of Denver, 

 Colorado; coiitribntiug: to some twenty 

 others. 



Although to all subjects with which he 

 deals, the Doctor applies the same tests, — 

 those of science, truth and fact, — with the 

 same unvarying rigidity, be it religion, bi- 

 ology, or mathematics, — he is, neverthe- 

 less, not the unbending scientist often seen 

 in like natures, for it is said that he more 

 than relishes the stage; good music; the 

 charms of the opposite sex; and the best 

 of good followship. 



At present he owns and lives in a pretty 

 suburban residence in close touch with 

 Washington, D. C. 



THE RUBY-THROATED HUMMING 

 BIRD. 



The Ruby-throated, the only species of 

 Hummingbird found in this section, is a 

 common summer resident, appearing with 

 the blooming of the wild scarlet columbine, 

 about the 12th of May, or sometimes a few 

 days earlier. 



The first to appear will be males and 

 their humming will be first noticed at some 

 warm southern exposure as they sip the 

 nectar from the freshly opened flowers 

 which seem to reflect the ruby of the bird's 

 throat. The female soon follows, and with 

 the warmer sunshine and opening flowers 

 they become every where common. 



Housekeeping operations commence very 

 shortly after their arrival if warm weather 

 and blooming flowers prevail ; or is delayed 

 by storms and cold winds. I have found 

 full .sets of eggs by the 24th of May, two 

 being the invariable complement. I think 

 it is quite probable that a second brood 

 is often reared, having seen fresh .sets even 

 late in July. 



Walking along a lonely path in the 

 woods one spring day, my attention was 

 attracted by a strange humming .sound 

 near at hand. Investigation .soon revealed 

 to my view a short distance awa}' what I 

 at first took for a crazv Hummer — words 



fail me to express the strange booming 

 .sound — but the view showed a Hummer 

 which I presently observed to be a male 

 performing some most remarkable evolu- 

 tions. Rising some fifteen feet in the air 

 he would immediately descend by a grace- 

 ful curve to within a few feet of the ground, 

 rising again by a similar curve about a rod 

 away to just about the same height, then 

 returning b}- similar curving flights back 

 to the starting point. Over the same space 

 back and forth, over and over again a 

 dozen or twenty times he went, returning 

 to the same spot every time and twittering 

 his loudest with each effort. It was some 

 time after first noticing these strange antics 

 before I discovered the cause to be a female 

 Hummer, demurely perched on a low spray 

 just above the ground, to whom these at- 

 tentions were being offered by an admirer, 

 and not for my entertainment. 



The nesting material of these little birds 

 is composed chiefly of a cottony substance 

 of a yellowish color, produced on the stalks 

 of the large ferns in considerable abund- 

 ance, and which forms excellent material 

 for the nests of the smaller birds, the 

 Yellow Warbler and the Prairie especially 

 taking advantage of its seasonable proxim- 

 ity to build of it cradles substantial and 

 warm for their offspring. 



The Hummers build very rapidly. I 

 was greatly interested last spring watching 

 a nest-builder as back and forth from the 

 fernery to the tree-top, where the nest was 

 begun, she darted by me as I sat on a bank 

 intersecting her route. Occasionally she 

 would suspend her labors of down gather- 

 ing and flit around among the low bushes, 

 slowly and carefully gathering spiders' webs, 

 evidently to bind the .soft material more 

 compactly together and more firmly to the 

 spray. 



The lichens with which they cover the 

 outer walls so deftly, so handsomely and so 

 completely, are every fraction secured in 

 place evidently by an abundance of the 

 same material. The eggs seem to be often 

 deposited before the completion of the nest, 



