Broad-Tailed Humming Birds 



diately arrests attention. Along the willow- 

 bordered creeks that extend up every caiion 

 the broad-tailed humming birds gather in full 

 force. The sound of their buzzing often 

 swells to a volume, that one would not believe 

 any number of such wee birds capable of pro- 

 ducing, unless one had heard it. As a bird 

 shoots up or down the creek bed, the buzzing of 

 its wings swells and sinks in a rhythmic beat, 

 a beat, perhaps, to the second, which may be 

 heard for some distance, getting louder as the 

 bird approaches, and then gradually dying 

 down as it continues up or down the canon. 

 This loud buzzing is an interesting habit of the 

 hummers, being very expressive of their ex- 

 uberance of spirits; for they seem to be ever 

 revelling in the joy of living. Lacking a 

 song, their special appeal lies in their dainty 

 smallness, vivaciousness, and an overflowing 

 exuberance of nature. 



About the twentieth of June, the nesting 



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