BIRDS OF THE NORTHERN STATES 305 
Hummingbird Family. — Very small birds with exceedingly long and 
slender bills and small mouths. They live on insects and the nectar 
of flowers, securing their food while on the wing. They fly “ like a 
streak of lightning,” their wings moving 
so rapidly that they make a humming 
sound which is usually the first thing to 
attract our attention when we come across 
them. These brightly colored birds are of- 
ten confounded with the sphinx or hum- 
ming moth, and it is well to be skeptical 
about reports of “ hummingbirds ” seen 
near flower beds in the evening or late af- 
ternoon. Hummingbirds visit the flowers 
in the daytime. 
428 Ruby-throated Hummingbird. S.R. RUBY-THROATED HUMMING- 
Not common in prairie sections. BIRD 
PERCHING BIRDS 
This class is the highest and by far the largest order of birds, and con- 
tains over half of all the species known. All our songsters belong to 
this order, and the term ‘‘Song Birds”’ is 
sometimes employed as synonymous with 
Perching Birds. But this practice is confus- 
ing, as many of these birds (including the en- 
tire Flycatcher and Crow families) do not sing 
at all. In size they range from very small 
birds (Kinglets, 4 inches long) to medium, — 
the Crow family being the only one with 
species much larger than the Robin, The legs 
are comparatively short and slender and so 
set as to give the body a horizontal position 
when resting on a perch. All these birds 
have four toes, the hind one being about as 
long as the other three and on a level with 
them, and when these clasp the perch and 
Kincriep the bird sits down the automatic action of 
certain tendons locks it to the perch and 
holds it there during sleep. None of the toes are webbed for swimming. 
