254 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



In tlie accompanying illustration may be seen figures of the 

 nests made by three different species of humming-birds, each of 

 which is remarkable for some peculiarity of structure, though they 

 are all pensile. 



The first of these nests is that which is made by the White- 

 sided Hill Star {Oreotrochilus kucopleurus), a native of the Andes 

 of Acoucagua, inhabiting a zone of very great elevation, seldom 

 being seen less than ten thousand feet above the level of the sea. 

 With the exception of a bright emerald-green gorget, it is rather 

 a dull-colored bird, the prevailing hue being brown. The nest is 

 shaped something like a hammock, not unlike that of the lanceo- 

 late honey-eater, described and figured on page 247, and is fast- 

 ened, not to a twig, or a leaf, or a branch, but to the side of a rock, 

 being suspended by one side, so as to leave the remainder free. 



As is the case with the generality of humming-birds' nests, cob- 

 webs are employed for the purpose of fastening the structure to 

 the object to which it hangs. The materials of which the nest is 

 made are chiefly moss, down, and feathers, the feathers being pro- 

 fusely stuck on the outside. 



This is not the only humming-bird which hangs its nest from 

 rocks, for the lovely Sappho Comet ( Cometes sparganurus), some- 

 times called the Bar-tailed Humming-bird, on account of the 

 dark bars which cross its tail, has a similar custom. 



This splendid bird inhabits Bolivia, and is a very familiar and 

 bold little creature. The nest is made chiefly of vegetable fibres 

 and moss, and furnished with a long appendage similar to those 

 which are made by so many humming-birds, for no conceivable 

 reason. The nest is lined with hair, probably that of the viscacha, 

 one of the llamas, and is hung against tne side of a rock or a wall, 

 sometimes being attached to the wall itself, but generally suspend- 

 ed from some twig or hanging root. The bird always selects 

 some spot where the nest can be sheltered by an overhanging 

 ledge of rock, probably because the very loose structure of the 

 nest requires that some such precaution should be taken. The 

 portion of the nest that rests against the wall is always looser than 

 the remainder of tbe structure. There are two eggs, of a rather 

 large size for humming-birds to lay, being about half an inch in 

 length. 



The Chimborazian Hill Star {Oreotrochilus Chimhorazo) also 

 hangs its nest against perpendicular rocks. 



