May 15, 1882.] 
AND OOLOGIST. 
127 
about the rooms through the day, as screens 
at the doors and windows kept them from 
escaping, although they did not attempt to 
get out or fly against the windows as wild 
birds usually do. 
I soon taught them to come at my call and 
feed from my lips, or rest on my breast 
while at my painting, and that recalls an 
amusing incident that happened to one of 
my pets. Being “ ferociously” hungry he 
made a dash at a mass of chrome-yellow on 
my pallette which stuck to his bill, and as 
I was hurrying to finish my day’s work I 
did not notice the mishap until his plain¬ 
tive peep, and fluttering before my face, 
called my attention. Upon relieving the 
poor little “ Omoline Ortesi” of his super- 
abimdance of chrome-yellow, he uttered 
his thanks and made a hurried dart after 
a fly. I have often seen both making quick, 
short turns and not stopping until one or 
the other had made a captive of a house 
fly. They would perch themselves upon 
the roimds of my chair, chirping with a 
squeaky, unmusical note, as if to let me 
know of their presence. 
When their food was gone they would 
poise themselves in the air close to my 
mouth, thrust their bills between my lips, 
then fly to their cup, then back to my 
mouth, and repeat it until I answered their 
demands. J. G. Cooper remarked, while 
watching their flight through the rooms, 
that he had never known of the hummers 
having been taught to gather honey from 
flowers only by the parent bird, and I de¬ 
cided to make the experiment, gathering 
some scarlet geraniums and verbenas, pla¬ 
cing them in a vase on the table, holding 
up my brush, I called my pets to me. I 
placed them in front of the flowers. They 
•lid not take any notice of them. I then 
put a drop of syrup in the centre of each 
blossom, putting the bills on the drops of 
sugar, which they sipped from every flower, 
hovering in the air as we see them out of 
doors ; they did not need a second lesson 
nor did they ever forget their instruction. 
Wlien fresh flowers were brought in, 
there was a gleaning without delay. I no¬ 
ticed the scarlet blossoms received atten¬ 
tion first, and they would perch upon my 
arm and hover about me with evidently 
pure delight, when I wore a scarlet jacket, 
showing a preference for bright colors. 
I had my pets two weeks when I noticed 
one of them on a mg where the sun shone, 
fluttering its wings as if wishing for a bath. 
I gave it a dish of water. Its foot was so 
small and the dish so slippery, that it could 
not stand. On placing a bit of moss in 
the dish and putting the wee one on it, it 
began to flutter its wings, sending the wa¬ 
ter in tiny showers, calling its mate to join 
in the glee. After washing they perched 
themselves on the centre cross-bar of the 
window, in the sunshine, dressing their 
feathers, stretching themselves over on 
their sides, acting as though quite well 
taught, all from bird intuition as they had 
not known a mother since leaving the nest. 
I found them very ajit in learning and fond 
of caresses, allowing me to stroke them, 
turning their heads to one side as if listen¬ 
ing to my words. 
My pets were three months and a half 
old when a friend came to visit me. As we 
sat chatting, the smaller and brighter of 
the two alighted on her hand, sitting for 
some five minutes, appearing as content as 
bird could be. I called it, and as it flew to 
my lips for sugar, finding none, hastened 
to its cage. As it was alighting, its com¬ 
panion who was at the cuj), gave it a 
sharp peck on the head, which stunned 
the poor thing, felling it to the floor. I 
picked it up and jflaced it on its perch 
by the food. It would not eat and seemed 
dazed like, dying on the following day. 
The remaining one went uneasily from 
room to room, calling most jutifully for its 
mate, and after the second day it refused 
to eat and died. Indeed I cannot tell 
you how we missed our pets, for every day 
we had learned something new and strange 
in the habits and peculiarities of the hum- 
