HIDDEN TREASURE 97 
to celebrate my discovery of their world by granting 
me seven days of nest-finding rarely vouchsafed even 
to veteran ornithologists. 
It was at twilight, and I stood on the edge of an 
old orchard where grew a white-oak tree. As I 
looked away across the valley, I heard a humming 
noise, and through the dimming light saw a tiny 
bird buzzing through the air just overhead. As I 
watched, she alighted on a long limb about ten feet 
from the ground, and even an ignoramus like myself 
could recognize the long curved beak of the humming- 
bird. This one had a white instead of a crimson 
throat, which, I was to learn, marked the female. 
For an instant the little bird perched on the limb 
just over my head, and then suddenly sidled toward 
what seemed a tiny knot, but was not. Lest I be 
betrayed into further puns unworthy the fair fame of 
a bird-student, I hasten to add that I had found the 
nest of a ruby-throated hummingbird. 
It was too dark that evening to examine it more 
closely, but by sunrise the next morning I was on 
the spot with a step-ladder, and with more delight 
than I have ever had in a nest since, looked down 
into the tiny lichen-covered, cobweb-stitched, thistle- 
down-lined nest of this smallest of all our birds. 
Within were two tiny white eggs. The opening of 
the nest was just about the size of a quarter of a 
dollar, and it did not seem possible that two little 
birds could later be brooded and fed and reared in 
such a tiny cradle. The nest itself was saddled on 
the limb, which was perhaps four inches in diameter. 
