It seems strange that so beautiful a 

 bird should have no song. The voice of 

 the Ruby-throat is confined to a chirp or 

 squeak expressive of surprise, excite- 

 ment or anger, and also fine chirping 

 notes uttered when seeking a mate. Mr. 

 Chapman says: "The Ruby-throat needs 

 no song. Its beauty gives it distinction, 

 and its wings make music." Our little 

 Hummers are inquisitive and fearless 

 birds. When standing near a trumpet- 

 creeper, watching the little bird, it hov- 

 ered directly over and in front of my face 

 looking me straight in the eye for sev- 

 eral seconds. Both parents valiantly de- 

 fend their nest and its contents, and^it is 

 said that should the female be killed, the 

 male will take her place in the care of 

 the young. 



While there seems to be no question 

 that the Ruby-throats are exceedingly 



fond of the sap of the sugar maple and 

 other trees, and of the nectar secreted in 

 the flowers of the honeysuckle, lilac, be- 

 gonia, horse chestnut and many other 

 plants, it is also evident that they require I 

 and like insect food. They are attracted ' 

 to certain species of thistles, the flowers 

 of which contain many minute insects 

 but do not furnish nectar to the birds. 

 It is the belief of many careful students 

 of bird-life that these little birds obtain 

 their nourishment chiefly from the large 

 number of minute insects and spiders 

 which they eat. One investigator found ' 

 sixteen small spiders in the throat of a 

 young Hummingbird which was only 

 about two days old. It is also known 

 that they feed to some extent on the 

 small plant-lice which are so annoying. 

 The Ruby-throats then are not only 

 beautiful ornaments of nature but they 

 are also of some economic value. 



HUMMINGBIRDS. 



The characteristics of this class of birds 

 are, a slender, weak bill, in some species 

 curved, in others straight; the nostrils 

 are minute; the tongue is very long and 

 is formed of two conjoined cylindrical 

 tubes; the legs are weak, the toes are 

 placed three forward and one back; the 

 tail contains ten feathers. 



The Hummingbirds are the most di- 

 minutive of all the feathered tribes. They 

 are natives of the warmer parts of Amer- 

 ica, and of the West India islands; they 

 bear a great resemblance to each other 

 in manners. Their name is derived from 

 the constant humming noise they make 

 with their wings. They construct ele- 

 gant nests, in the shape of hemispheres, 

 in which they lay two small white eggs- 

 It is said that the young ones are some- 

 times attacked and devoured by spiders. 



A simple way in which to capture these 

 birds is by blowing water upon them 

 from a tube, or shooting them with sand. 

 Although they are small in size, they 



are extremely bold and pugnacious. 

 Their colors are too brilliant to be de- 

 scribed by any pen. 



The length of our Ruby-throated Hum- 

 mingbird is about three and one-fourth 

 inches, of which its bill occupies three- 

 fourths of an inch. The male is of a 

 green-gold color on the upper part with 

 a changeable copper gloss and the under 

 parts are gray. The throat and forepart 

 of the neck are of a ruby color, in some 

 lights as bright as fire. When viewed 

 sideways the feathers appear mixed with 

 gold and beneath they are of a dark gar- 

 net color. The two middle feathers of 

 the tail are similar in color to the upper 

 plumage and the rest are brown. The 

 female, instead of the ruby throat, has 

 only a few obscure brown spots and all 

 the outer tail-feathers, which in the male 

 are plain, are in the female tipped with 

 white. 



This beautiful little creature is as ad- 

 niira])le for its vast swiftness in the air, 



72 



