Mr. H. W. Henshaw, who observed this Hummingbird in great abundance on the 

 upper Pecos River, New Mexico, gives the following interesting account: 



"The number of reprfesentatives of this and the preceding species that make their 

 summer homes in these mountains is simply beyond calculation. No one whose experience 

 is limited to the Eastern United States can form any adequate idea of their abundance. 

 They occur from an altitude of about 7,500 feet far up on the mountain sides, as high 

 up, in fact, as suitable flowers afford them the means of subsistence. They are most 

 numerous at an altitude of from 8,000 to 9,000 feet. During the entire summer they 

 frequent almost exclusively a species of Scrophularia which grows in clumps in the 

 sunnier spots of the valleys. From early dawn till dusk the Hummingbirds throng 

 around these plants, intent in surfeiting themselves on honey and the minute insects 

 that the honey attracts. The scene presented in one of these flowering areas is a most 

 attractive one. Males and females, all flock to the common feeding ground, and as the 

 Hummers, especially of the Rufous-backed species, are pugnacious and hot tempered in 

 the extreme, the field becomes a constant battle-ground whereon favorite flowers and 

 favorite perching grounds are contested for with all the ardor that attaches to more 

 important conquests. The fiery red throat of the Rufous-backed Hummer is an index 

 of its impetuous, aggressive disposition, and w^hen brought into conflict with the other 

 species, it invariably asserts its supremacy and drives its rival in utter rout from the 

 fields. Nor do the males of this species confine their warfare to their own sex. Gallantry 

 has no place apparently in their breasts,. and when conquest has put them iti possession 

 of a perch near a clump of flowers, they wage war on all comers, females as well 

 as males. 



"Nor is the pugnacity of this Hummingbird limited to attacks on other species. 

 The presence of a male of its own kind is sufficient to arouse it to the highest pitch of 

 fury, and should the contestants be equally matched, they will seize each other by the 

 bill and, using their wings as offensive weapons, fall to the ground, roll over and over 

 in fierce strife until exhausted, or until one is worsted, when he is off like a bullet for 

 less dangerous hunting grounds, followed by the exulting victor, who, however, soon 

 gives over pursuit and returns to the perch he has so well won, to preen his disordered 

 plumage and make ready for a fresh contest. 



"When the attack is urged against the males of the Broad-tailed species, the con- 

 test is less fierce, the latter species usually abandoning the ground in hot haste. The 

 latter result always follows the assault of a male upon the females who, if less valiant 

 in battle, are scarcely less backward when it comes to the assertion of their .rights 

 against intruders of their own sex. The rivalry the females display is not less marked 

 if the battles it prompts are less fierce than when the males are engaged ; occasionally 

 the females will fight with all the ardor displayed by the males. The mimic contests 

 thus hinted at rather than described— for the fury and spirit displayed in their battles 

 must be seen to be appreciated— are continued all day long, and were the strength of 

 the combatants at all proportionate to their fury, the problem of Hummingbird Hfe 

 would simply resolve itself down to a question of the survival of the strongest. But 

 the tiny strength of these pygmies, though backed by never so much warUke spirit, is 

 scarcely sufficient to detach a feather from each other's gleaming bodies ; and even at 



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