The Anna Hummer 
Taken in the Ojai 
and Mrs. Dawson re¬ 
spectfully proposes 
Thumb-sized Scissor- 
grinder as a more de¬ 
scriptive epithet than 
Anna—the inane. 
The established ar¬ 
ticle of Hummer court¬ 
ship is, as everybody 
knows, the tower and 
dive, and this perfor¬ 
mance serves as well to 
intimidate enemies as to 
win favor with the 
ladies, though why it 
should accomplish such 
diverse ends I cannot for 
the life of me discern. 
Perhaps there is a subtle 
difference in quality 
which escapes our dull 
perceptions. Anyhow, 
the male Anna in court¬ 
ing time is very irascible, 
and is as likely to try 
conclusions with a man 
as with a mouse. Upon 
sighting a fancied 
enemy, the little spitfire 
mounts to a considerable 
height in midair, and 
then darts down with 
great velocity, produc¬ 
ing at the climax of its 
parabola a sudden 
explosive squeak or 
squawk—actually a little trying to the nerves of the most hardened 
offender. This focal squawk (whether vocal or exophonic we do not 
know) is very brief and is much lower in pitch than the courting squeak 
of the Costa Hummer. It sounds, in fact, like the whistling cry of the 
ground squirrel ( Citellus) or of a cony ( Ochotona). 
The courting flight, with the lady seated on an exposed twig, or 
ANOTHER VIEW OF FOREGOING 
Photo by Dickey 
938 
