- The bodies of the newcomers acquired their feathery 
covering in the usual bird fashion, but that way gave one 
lesson that was not hard to get by those who studied it 
through the window. Tiny dark horns appeared in many 
spots, which formed a kind of pattern, with bare places, 
and these horns grew into pin feathers, which gradually 
opened out into plumes with brilliant hues. | 
Before the plumage was complete there came a sad 
Saturday when a heavy rainstorm brought sorrow with it, | 
_ for on Monday there was but one beautiful baby in the nest. 
He grew so rapidly and his feathers were so shining that all 
interest centred in him, for this youngling proved to be a 
male bird. He had a brilliant cinnamon-red back, and a 
scarlet, ruby gorget, or breast-plate, which shimmered and 
glistened or turned to gold or emerald at his aoa move- 
ment. | 
In a little over two weeks “ee was as large as his mother, 
and the two of them filled the nest even when it was 
stretched. He would sometimes mount to the worn edge of 
his residence, and cling there while he exercised his long 
pointed wings. Thus he was getting them ready for the. 
rapid vibrations that the eye cannot separate into strokes 
which they make when he flies. Scientists have tried to | 
measure their rate of motion and have said that it is six . 
hundred vibrations per minute, and we saw their rapidity 
made a fan-shaped halo on each side of the dancing sprite. 
To anyone who admires small feet, this bird would 
have been a delight, for the tiny black toes seemed but — 
threads as they clung to the home wall, but the threads were 
strong as heavy wire and gave the strength that was needed 
to hold the owner down until ready for flight. Very few 
people can boast that they have really seen the feet of 
hummingbirds. Have you, my reader, or do you need to 
call upon your fancy to see these frail extremities which 
perch so well but cannot walk on flat ground? 
At the end of three weeks a few children were fortunate 
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