1 86 Birds Every Child Should Know 
outlet, for she is one of the most expert nest- 
builders in the world. An exquisitely dainty 
little cup of plant down, felted into a compact 
cradle and stuccoed \vith bits of lichen bound on 
by spider-web, can scarcely be told from a knot 
on the limb to which it is fastened. Two eggs, 
not larger than beans, in time give place to two 
downy hummers about the size of honey-bees. 
Perhaps you have seen pigeons pump food 
down the throats of their squabs? In this same 
way are baby hummingbirds fed. After about 
three weeks in the nest, the young are ready 
to fly ; but they rest on perches the first month 
of their independence more than at any time 
afterward. No weak-footed relative of the 
swift could live long off the wing. It is good- 
bye to summer when the last hummingbird 
forsakes our frost-nipped, northern gardens for 
happier hunting grounds far away. 
