MAY 95 



and his greater virility — for he is a most 

 pugnacious fighter — gave him a quicker 

 circulation that contributes to the remark- 

 able brilliance of his coloration. 



THE HUMMER'S NEST 



Not only is the hummer more exquisite 

 in his tastes and more dainty in his colora- 

 tion than his coarser congeners, his home 

 partakes of the same exquisite qualities. 

 The boldness with which he dares the gaze 

 of the passer-by is justified by the result, 

 for few people find the humming-bird's nest. 

 Scarcely large enough to serve as a thimble 

 for your finger, it perches openly on the 

 limb. But the owner has concealed it by 

 covering it with a coat of lichens, that makes 

 it look like a mere swelling of the branch 

 itself. Meanwhile, that his mate may rest 

 more cozily in her dainty bed, he has gone 

 to the springing ferns, and from their tender, 

 uncurling fronds he has stripped the filmy 

 brown fur that kept them warm. With this 

 he makes the soft lining on which the eggs, 

 scarcely so large as the average cherry-stone, 



