alone for any length of time. They all die soon, and even the more robust species which 

 were brought over successfully to Europe, died shortly after their arrival. 



The Hummingbird has a charming confidence in man and can easily be observed. 

 "In their disposition," writes my friend. Prof Robert Ridgway, "Hummingbirds are not 

 only very tame, but highly curious or inquisitive, and exhibit a special propensity to 

 closely inspect a human intruder to their domains. One of these little feathered fairies 

 will at such times approach like a flash and poise directly before one's face, its wings 

 vibrating so rapidly as to appear as a mere haze on each side of its body, which itself 

 remains so stationary that the inquiring expression of its bright black eyes and the 

 outline of nearly every feather of its compact little figure can be seen; then- it shifts 

 rapidly to one side, then to the other, and approaches so near as to be easily within 

 reach of the hand ; but the slightest demonstration causes it to vanish so swiftly that 

 the eye can scarcely trace the line of its flight." 



The nidification of these feathered flower fairies is another very interesting point. 

 The nest is invariably built on a horizontal branch usually covered with crustaceous 

 lichens. Those found by me in Texas were firmly saddled on the horizontal branches of 

 the magnolia and on different oaks. The limbs on which they were placed were of the 

 thickness of a finger, and the nests were saddled on the bare branch, with no smaller 

 twigs in the walls or near the structure. Other nests, found in Wisconsin and Illinois, 

 w^ere placed on larger sized limbs, and the nests were also larger. The domicile is very 

 frequently placed in an old and rather dense apple tree, but in such a position where 

 the sun's rays can strike it. Sometimes a nest is discovered on a limb that is slightly 

 slanting, and the structure rests in a small fork. Such a nest has been figured by 

 Mr. Ridgway in his interesting little work, "The Hummingbirds." (Plate XXXVII.) 

 The beautiful nest of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird is a miniature of the Blue-gray 

 Gnatcatcher's. It is exceedingly difficult to find, being so very small and looking like a 

 moss-covered knot or protuberance. It is usually placed from eight to twelve feet above 

 the ground, but sometimes it is as low as four or five feet, and sometimes as high as 

 twenty to twenty-five feet from the ground. Usually the nests found in Texas were 

 scarcely larger than a large black walnut, measuring from 1.65 to 1 .75 in external diameter 

 by 1.50 to 1.60 in height. The cavity is about 1.00 inch deep, and 1.25 inch wide. It 

 is cup-like in shape, and of very homogeneous construction. It is made of various kinds 

 of vegetable wool, especially the down of the mullein and ferns. The whole is strengthened 

 on the outside by a few plant fibers. All the external portion of the small domicile is 

 covered with flat crustaceous lichens of a greenish or glaucous color, mostly a species 

 of Parmelia. These bluish-gray lichens, which show the color of the branch on which 

 the nest is saddled, appear to be agglutinated by the saliva of the bird. The cavity is 

 warmly lined with fern down and in other cases with very soft plant wool. The two 

 eggs are rather elliptical than oval, and of a pure white color. If we happen to approach 

 the nest too closely, the birds dart around us, often almost touching our face. Birds 

 and mammals approaching the nest are often furiously attacked and driven away. 



"Notwithstanding its small size," writes Miss Hedwig Schlichting, "our little Ruby- 

 throat is a very agressive fellow, attacking with great fury everything that excites its 

 animosity. How often have I observed these midgets driving away such large birds as 



