84 



VERTEBRATES: BIRDS. 



to make a hole in a .tree for the nest. The female lays 

 from four to six white eggs twice in a season. 



Perchers, ok Insessores. 



These make up a large part of the most common 

 Birds, as Humming Birds, Nighthawks, Kingfishers, Fly- 

 catchers, Thrushes, Warblers, Creepers, Titmice, Spar- 

 rows, Grosbeaks, Larks, Blackbirds, Jays, Crows, etc. 



Humming Birds. 



These are Birds of the smallest size and of the most 

 gorgeous plumage to be found in the feathered race. 

 The beauty of their colors defies description ; and from 

 their brilliancy they are often called " flj'ing gems." 



Figs. 114 .iiid 115. — Ruby-throated Humming Bird and Nest. 



There are about four hundred kinds, and they all be- 

 long to the continent and islands of America, and are 

 most numerous in the warm regions. Their feet are 

 very small, their wings long, and their power of flight 

 very great ; they can balance themseh'es in the air, 

 or beside a flower, with perfect ease. Their food con- 

 sists of insects and the honey of flowers. Their nests 

 are usually made of cotton, thistle-down, delicate fibers, 

 and other soft materials, wox'cn into a cup-shaped cradle, 

 and placed on a branch of a tree not many feet from 

 the ground ; and the outside is covered with lichens 



