mountain peaks. The Chimborazo Hill Star Humming Bird, for 
example, is found only upon that volcano, at an elevation of from 
12,000 to 16,000 feet, up to the edge of the snow line, and upon 
the neighboring volcano of Pichincha only thirty miles distant, is 
found a distinct species which is peculiar to that mountain alone. 
The flight of the Humming Bird differs from that of all other 
birds, and resembles, as we all know, that of the insects, the 
wings moving so rapidly that it is impossible to see the separate 
vibrations. Almost all of them are endowed with the most won¬ 
derful brilliancy of plumage, which glitters in parts with a metal¬ 
lic lustre and varies in color according as the feathers are viewed 
in front or obliquely, so that these birds are able by their move¬ 
ments to change their hues. The Rufous-backed Humming Bird 
of the Pacific coast, for instance, is said to change the color of its 
throat from a fire tint to a light green. The only species found 
in eastern North America is our little Ruby-throat which breeds 
from Texas to high latitudes. I should mention, however, that a 
specimen of Linnaeus’s Emerald, a South American species, was 
captured in 1864 at Cambridge, Mass., the cause of whose 
presence there has ever since been a mystery to naturalists. Any 
one who has a trumpet creeper or plant with tubular flowers is 
sure to see a Ruby-throat about it during the summer, and I 
understand that its nest has been found on the Island. 
Frequenting the beaches and the marsh back of the beach, quite 
a number of interesting birds can be found. At almost any time 
in late spring and summer, walking by the edge of the pond, you 
may hear coming from among the thick reeds a peculiar trilling 
song, difficult to describe, but which, after it is once heard, can¬ 
not be mistaken. This proceeds from the Long-billed Marsh 
Wren, a little bird which is quite common, and which builds one 
of the most curious of American nests. It attaches to the reeds a 
coarsely woven structure more or less spherical in shape, like a 
large ball with a hole in it on one side for the bird to enter. Mr. 
LaFarge has found the nest of a closely related, but much rarer 
species, the Short-billed Marsh Wren. 
Besides these Wrens, I will mention in particular two other 
birds found among the reeds and frequently shot by sportsmen, 
which are much commoner than is usually supposed. These 
are the Common Rail, called in Virginia the Sora, and the 
