THE EUBY-THEOATED HUMMINGBIKD. 195 



live long in captivity. Something seems to be lacking, prol:)ably the required 

 quantity of insects which they are able to obtain in a wild state, and sirup alone 

 does not appear to enable them to survive such changed conditions for any 

 length of time. All of our Hummingbirds are very fond of bathing, and I 

 have seen one fly repeatedly through the spray of a fountain in one of the 

 numerous parks in Washington, District of Columbia. 



Mr. Otto Widmann, of Old Orchard, Missouri, has kindly furnished me 

 with the following notes on this species: 



"While in the St. Francis region, Missouri, I was not a little surprised to 

 meet, on the forenoon of May 10, a great number of Ruby-throats in the garb 

 of the female, but with beautiful red throats, in shape exactly like the patch of 

 the male, but the color a plain solferino, without any metallic or golden hue. At 

 first I did not know what to make of it, until I found out that the pollen of 

 ^sculus pavia, the red shrub buckeye, is of the identical color and stains the 

 fingers with solferino at the touch. These Ruby-throats were a wandering army 

 of females; among the large number of birds present only a few (one or two, I 

 think) males were seen, and they were probably summer sojourners in these 

 woods. Next day I visited the same forest again at the same hour, but all the 

 female Hummers were gone. 



"The first Hummers appear in St. Louis County about the last week in 

 April, but in southeast Missouri (Pemiscot County) I found them already present 

 on April 11, 1893. Male Hummers do not become numerous in St. Louis 

 County before May 6, and females about May 12. Fresh eggs are to be looked 

 for about the 1st of June. Southward migration is well under way by the 

 middle of September, when Hummers are very plentiful. After the 1st of Octo- 

 ber they are less frequently seen, but the last ones do not leave us before 

 October 11 or 12. Migration in this species has much in common with that of 

 the Swift, from which fact I conclude that their insect food may be somewhat 

 similar, and that both species may feed on nearly related insects. A peculiarity 

 of the Ruby-throat, which I have only once seen mentioned in print, is the pendu- 

 lum play of the male Hummer. In time it coincides with the period of sexual 

 excitement; it begins here about May 12, with the arrival of the bulk of the 

 females, and lasts until incubation has commenced. In this play the bird is 

 swinging to and fro, as if suspended from a fixed point; it describes one-fourth 

 of a circle, and travels about a rod. This pendulum movement is continued 

 about a dozen times, the bird emitting chirps all the time." 



Shortly after their arrival in the spring they are continually chasing each 

 other about; considerable of this is undoubtedly done in play, but occasionally 

 they act like perfect little furies, and try to injure each other as much as pos- 

 sible. At such times they utter rather shrill, squealing sounds, like ' ' chic-we- 

 we-a," which are frequently and rapidly repeated; at other times they utter 

 low, chippering sounds that can only be heard when close by, intermixed now 

 and then with a somewhat louder chirp. After one has driven its rival away it 

 generally returns to one of its favorite perches, some little dry twig of a shrub 

 or tree, from where it commands a good outlook, and commences at once to 



