GREY-THROATED HERMIT— PIGMY HERMIT 139 
Other nests made by birds of the same genus are worthy of a 
passing mention. 
First, there is the pretty nest of the Grey-throated Hermit 
( Phaethornis griseogu/aris), a very tiny bird, of comparatively 
sober plumage, reddish brown being the predominant hue. This 
species is found in Ecuador, and is seen at an elevation of six 
thousand feet above the level of the sea. Indeed, the depth 
of cold which these fragile little beings can endure is really 
surprising, many species being found only on the highest moun- 
tains, and one bird, the Chimborazian Hill Star, inhabiting a 
zone that is never less than twelve thousand feet, and seldom 
more than sixteen thousand, above the level of the sea. Imme- 
diately above the last-mentioned elevation the line of perpetual 
snow begins, and though the bird can. exist just below it, the 
absence of vegetation prevents it overpassing that line. 
The nest of the Grey-throated Hermit is made of moss fibres 
and the same silken threads that have already been mentioned, 
and is fastened to a leaf. It does not, however, hang from the 
extremity, but is fastened against the side of the leaf, and its 
tail, if we may so call the lengthened appendage, is not free, but 
attached to the leaf in the same manner as the nest. 
Another species, Phaethornis Eurynome, makes its nest of the 
tendrils of certain creepers, together with delicate root-fibres, 
and attaches it to the leaf of some palm by means of cobwebs. 
Our last example of this group is the tiny species called the 
Pigmy Hermit ( Phaethornis pygmceus ), a pretty little creature, 
though scarcely a brilliant one, and decorated with green-bronze 
above and warm red below. The nest of this species is fastened 
to a leaf, like that of the grey-throated hermit, and is also deep 
and cup-shaped, with an appendage so long as to give the whole 
nest a shape resembling that of a funnel. It is remarkable for 
the great use of which this little architect makes of seeds, the 
exterior being covered with downy seeds, and the interior lined 
with similar down, and the delicate fibres of flowering plants. 
In the accompanying illustration may be seen figures of the 
nests made by three different species of humming birds, each 
