HUMMING BIRDS. 
353 
wonder, inasmuch as they never lay more than two eggs, and 
in all probability do not rear more than three, or perhaps four, 
young in the course of a season. 
The general habits of this tiny bird are well worthy of notice, 
but at present we must content ourselves with it as it appears 
in its nest-making capacity. Being a very small bird, only 
three inches and a half in total length, and very slenderly made, 
the nest is necessarily small. But, although we so often find 
that little birds build large nests, we cannot but notice that the 
nest of this Humming Bird is even smaller than the size of its 
occupant seems to require. It is round, neatly made, and has 
thick walls and a small hollow. 
The bird has a wonderful power of concealing the nest, which 
cannot be discovered except by a practised nest-hunter, so 
closely does it resemble a knob upon a branch. So careful, 
too, is the female of her home, that she does not fly straight to 
it, but rises high in the air, and then darts down among the 
branches with such rapidity that the eye cannot follow her 
movements, and she is fairly seated in her nest before the spec- 
tator knows exactly in which direction she has gone. 
This curious trait seems to have been discovered by Mr. 
C. W. Webber. He had successfully tamed some Ruby-throats, 
and determined to find a nest, so that he might obtain the 
young. After finding that a pair of Humming Birds had been 
seen near a certain spot on a river, he set himself determinately 
to discover the nest. By degrees they were watched to a point 
of the river, but there they always disappeared, as they had a 
habit of shooting perpendicularly into the air until their tiny 
bodies were lost to sight. At last, however, the patient 
watchfulness of the observer was rewarded by catching a 
glimpse of the female bird, as she descended perpendicularly 
from the height to which she had risen, and in this manner was 
the nest discovered. 
The same agreeable writer relates an anecdote respecting the 
discovery of a nest belonging to the Emerald-throated Humming 
Bird, an edifice which is very similar to that which is made by 
the Ruby-throat. He had been in vain looking for a nest, 
A A 
