144



R. S. de Q. Quincey—Hardiness of a Humming-bird



the flurry of greenhouse conversion, I had left uncovered, and his

toes, from this perhaps, or because he got more than his share of meal¬

worms, swelled, and his and my heart sank. He became very thin and

finally expired. He had boxes of leaf mould and trays and pans of

water of varying depths, but he preferred the hot pipes. Roberta,

who was still fat, but rather hating close confinement in an inner partition

of this greenhouse, was liberated into the larger outer part where Robeit

died, and a month later she was dead too. Shortly before Robert fell

sick Roberta appeared to be thinking of getting friendly ; they made

faint mewing sounds to one another. All the late summer I had been

watching for any sign of affection, but whenever they were put into the

same aviary Roberta had her military-chested spouse by the tail or

scruff, and saw to it that there were feathers flying, so that there always

had to be a wire netting breadth between them.


Other rather tragic losses have been two unquestionably fit White-

bellied Emerald Hummers (Agyrtria leucogaster), both from being

frightened at night by mice and flying against the glass in the green¬

house, and, one supposes, fluttering down to the ground, where they

became exhausted. One was found wedged and the other definitely

nibbled. These Hummers seem more nervous and less confiding than

most varieties I have tried.


At last I think I have won an up-hill fight ; for the moment all mice

are banished from my so-called “ Tropical House ”. This is perhaps

an amusing little affair when one recalls the superb structures in exist¬

ence, but it is 20 by 10 feet of indescribable pleasure to me. It is

a “ wire-tension ” house, three-quarters span, built against a wall.

Originally it had wide shelves and an earth floor, and I seized a small

corner about 3 ft. 6 in. by 6 feet as a thin end of the wedge. I realized

that I should want a certain amount of extra heat in this during the

winter, so that it has necessitated the erection of another cooler house

“ just to help on the annuals ”, and this has enabled me to seize the

whole of our original greenhouse for birds.


So far, casualties with Hummers, apart from the two White-bellied

Emeralds already mentioned, have been one Ruby and Topaz that got

his foot caught in two overlapping pieces of wire netting. He was

discovered too late to bring him round.



