Show Z humming bai da and others a 1 1 IS I 1 BY BT i out pretty little humming hamming birds ire are ll 11 niya 1 ra rilly admired admiria for their I 1 aal infill it size its as W well ell as for elio metallic lustre of their plumage their throats are arc especially brilliant and at ire e eiten of ten adorned with a ariely of beautiful colors the ile bills of these birdi are arc always alway 1 lori long gand and slender lutI thas has been observed thai they ire are either eilber straight or curved accord binm ng to the shape of tile the flower they frequent re quent tile the active little birds visit the flo lowers not so much to obtain honey its is to capture tho the insects that have been acan attracted there by the sweet juices biccs the tongue however con aim two halow billow tubes and it is dl 11 vided aided at the end thus serving in ff tile the double purpose of catching insects all ind d of socking sacking the juices frota from flowers r the bumming hum mio sound which tic ac com coia panics the R flight of these birds fillrom fAll mid from rom it blob they take like their name is is produced by the exceeding rapid motion of their wings they seldom alight when taking their food by beli letting ting the air they hover before the ha flower 0 long O ng enough C to secure tho the feast aati then they dart sq so suddenly rote on one flower to another hint we aa iru scarcely able to get more inore than a g glimpse jf tile the alli ater wf anal sparkle e of their bright colors Ifil If imming birds live in p pairs irs and the hie I 1 nale male defends his littlon little famil family y with much spirit indeed the he fo fe malo herself Is 1 not wanting in courage affe 0 and is slow to abandon tier her nest after it has been torn down dotin A A brave little no ayon p f I 1 us admiration of h her or observers by sticking to her nest and raisin raising her brood I 1 sifter the branch on which the nest was waa situated was cut from the tree ace As soon na as it was discovered the he branch was immediately jackei tacked tip ip on oil a fence near by and fortunately at elythe the br birds dadid did not allow their domestic arrangements to be interrupted by tile the accident these birds sometimes return to to 0 the iho same tree for several seasons in n succession and tho the young birds appear to stay with nith their parelius pare parents lits until ile f fall alil otlien ell they all 0 go 0 boulli EO together colier Ct lier tile cup clip nest of our common hum humming I 1 bird tie tl e ruby throat is a tiny affair mado of soft down taken from froin the stems of feins it is is then covered with moss and lichens so closely resembling tile branch on oil which MIMI it is blaed I 1 that it iii extremely difficult to rind find tile the nest besl in ili many cases of dischi discovering crin g these nests the birds luve have betra betrayed but rayed red their own evil secret by suspicious aati acl nily ity in one instance that eliot came to our notice the birds made frequent visits to a blackberry bush w litre they collect ed cd cobwebs nud ind carried theau to a certain carl ain spot on oil the binsch of a tall tree Curios curiosity lt 31 was excited by their and on examining exa examining minin the spot after sonic some time had alicel been X nl to pass a beautifully finished nest was found containing 0 to white while bags eggs scarcely larger 0 than peas bobolinks arrive in ill new england denland iu ahn oaring rind sing sweetly for fora a few tt celis they ire arc mostly seen perched on twigs or spears of grass rass in ili the meadow pouring bourin out a food flood of melody as they tilt 11 up p and doin down it on oil their slender supports their nest is generally places etl near by at tho the root of a tuft of grass 0 rass at this season the male is dressed al r essed in a mottled coat of f black blac k and white while the demalo is of a 11 yellowish brown later in ia the sti summer maier the male assumes the iho quiet garb of his matland mate mat cand and theysel they set off towards the south it in search of good things to cat they kind find attractive feeding grounds ground almon among 0 the reeds and inardi marshes les of the deis delaware ware river and ad they grow row fat upon pon the seeds which ore are sn so abundant it at this season they ire arc now called reed birds birdsie lit pennsylvania and new jersey jersek and being ue ing considered A great delicacy th they cy are arc shot in large numbers to supply the tables of the luxurious those that escape tile gun of tile next visit the rice swamps of Ca carobina rojina they feast feas t grce greedily a dily upon grains of rice lull and pass by the name of rice birds the character of the bobolink undergoes a complete change daniu during this time in the spring the bird ii P very musical it i seems to know tit that 11 t it has come among friends and it il becomes tame and familiar familiar but after starting starling on its southern journeys it loses its refined and musical taste grows silent anil and shy still and 0 hes itself up tip to the p pleasures leasur ets of appetite thus the bobolink in its extended migrations 0 which ire are sup supposed bobea to reach from labrador to patagonia plays tile the part of three birds differing 3 0 in character as well as appear it lice swallows are arc excellent flyers since their long pointed wing lull and fork forked e d t tails alls are both favorable to great speed it is that these birds ly from 60 to 90 mite miles 4 an hour leour they tile y delight 0 in ili places where insects abound and here bere they ate aie seen during twilight ILI 0 flit flying in fit large all the he 8 swallows r allows have a sticky glue lue like saliva I 1 IVIA which serves them a good purpose in nest building tho the edible birds birdi nests so popular alo among ollo i the chinese a arc re built by a species of sn an allow these A tests nests are arc made of a cirt certain nin kind of sea weed which boiled yields a 0 good a qua quality lily of glue tile the birds if ds first swallow tile so aca weed then deposit the ibo softened material frodi their mouths around the edge of the nest besl and tha elio whole hardens harden s on oil exposure to the air these neato gro arc then glued upon rocky cliffs anti ann ado lesida of caverns on tile the sea shore ulgere they are arc I 1 gathered a with 0 great difficulty and danger auk swallows when so seen e flat at all are found in large companies they dig im ioles holes I 1 for their no nests ats in fit per perpendicular it ar bluffs of line fine sand near some sheet of ir tar these holes extend into tile the bank for two or three feet and at tile the farthest eitrem extremity ity is placed a loose nest nce of hay jauntily lined filled with a few short feathers stood steel upright abt the holes nrc are placed so 0 close together in the bauk back that ibal it would see at alLU bilt ya 1 1 I Po bIblo for each bird to know its onit olt still llroy to fu their ln ic respective nests with unerring precision harpers 11 arpi young people I 1 |