154 BIRDS OF THE WORLD 



tain sufficient of their glory to dazzle us. At times 

 these tiny bodies glow as with some internal fire, at 

 others they appear dull. As the spectator changes his 

 place, green turns to gold, and gold to black, and 

 back again to gold and green, and a dozen other inter- 

 mediate hues, according to the intensity and incidence 

 of the light. One must see Humming-birds to realise 

 their surpassing beauty ; no brush can depict them nor 

 can words describe them. 



The Ruby-throated Humming-bird is a very beau- 

 tiful species, about three and a half inches in length, 

 found in the eastern part of North America, breeding 

 from the southern border as far north as Labrador. 

 The upper parts are brilliant green, wings and tail 

 brownish-grey, and the throat and exquisite ruby-red. 

 The female is similarly coloured, but lacks the red 

 throat of the male. These birds are said to spend 

 much of their time perched motionless in trees, going 

 at intervals to certain places to feed. They are re- 

 markably fearless and may be closely approached 

 without taking alarm. The nests are beautiful little 

 structures, lined with the softest down and sometimes 

 with spider-webs, and the eggs are always white and 

 two in number. The young are fed by the parents on 

 small insects, which they regurgitate. 



In the Old World the place of the Humming-birds 

 is taken by the Sun-birds, which resemble them in 

 general appearance and in habits, but are not so bril- 

 liant in plumage. Their wings are shorter and more 

 rounded and their feet are stronger. Unlike Hum- 

 ming-birds, which take their food from flowers while 



