THE RUBY-THROATED HUMMING BIRD. 89 
prier bushes or orange tree of some garden for a 
place in which to prepare a nest. Frequently 
the mocking bird may be seen bearing food in 
his mouth for his companion, when he flies to 
the nest to secure her caresses and thanks. Dew- 
besties, garden fruits, and sometimes insects, 
form their food. These birds are especially care- 
ful-of their young, and should they perceive that 
some intruder has visited their nest, they may be 
heard with low mournful notes condoling to- 
gether. Different kinds of snakes ascend to their 
retreats, and frequently destroy the brood, when 
not only the pair to which the nest belongs, but 
many other birds of the tribe league together 
for revenge, fly to the spot, attack the reptile, 
and either force him to retreat,-or else deprive 
him of life. So much veneration is felt for the 
mocking bird throughout Louisiana, that one 
is seldom permitted to be shot. 
Returning with the promise of Spring, and 
the very first genial rays of the sun, as early as 
the ninth or tenth of March, the ruby-throated 
huinming bird appears in the Louisiana woods; 
visiting in turn prairies, fields, orchards, and se 
cluded shades of the forest, may be seen this 
bright aerial wanderer in its gorgeous chameleon 
hues, sparkling in the air like a fragment of the 
rainbow. Naturalists unite in describing rap- 
turously this most exquisitely apparelled winged 
8* 
