Birds and All Nature, Vol. 6, No. 1, June 1899: Illustrated by Color PhotographyVarious
History
Birds and All Nature, Vol. 6, No. 1, June 1899: Illustrated by Color Photography
Various
Birds -- Periodicals; Natural history -- Periodicals
Nor does he redeem himself when the prospective "twins" arrive and
slender bills are lifted appealingly for food! No thanks to him that
the naked, squirming little atoms replacing the two white eggs become
gradually stronger, that some hint of plumage duly covers their
nudeness, or that bye-and-bye they become birds in reality.
Two years ago this "little lady in green" made her nest upon an apple
tree branch, concealing it so deftly that the gardener at work near by
was unaware of the distinguished guests until the brooding was nearly
over. When the little birds had flown the lichened residence, becoming
a family possession, was considered the daintiest souvenir of the
summer.
Being anxious to know if this rare, interesting episode would be
repeated, the following summer I watched carefully for its repetition.
Promptly in June I found that a humming bird was again "at home," this
time upon a horizontal maple branch, twelve feet from the ground and
directly over the sidewalk. This nest was soldered upon a long slender
bough half an inch in thickness at the intersection of another, a mere
twig a quarter of an inch through, the latter inwrought with, and
concealed for a full inch in the structural fiber. Upon the 22d of the
same month, by the aid of a ladder I found that two eggs "the size of
yellow beans" were lying inside the downy cup shaped nest. Before this
luckless visitation the tail of the brooding bird could be seen from
the ground, but during the next two days there was no sign of life
thereabout.
In the afternoon of the third day my bird was in the maple, darting
hither and thither like a swallow, plunging into the insect swarms and
securing several before they realized her presence. Then she came to
the honeysuckle beside me, hovering over it in a bewildered, irresolute
manner as if debating whether she could safely probe its scarlet cups.
Just at this moment a big miller flew by and off she went in close
chase, capturing it upon the wing. Then she rested upon a maple twig,
leisurely preened her feathers, drawing each one gently through her
beak, and after a second visit to the honeysuckles darted toward the
nest. Now, I thought, is the time, if ever, to decide if she is still
housekeeping, and following quickly, I saw her standing upon the edge
of the silken cradle. Her head moved rapidly from side to side as she
regarded its contents, after which she rose lightly in the air, dropped
upon the nest with the airy grace of a thistledown, and spread above it
the feathered blanket of her soft, warm breast. For several minutes she
ignored my presence, drawing her beak across the leaves or springing
into the air for a passing insect which was captured and apparently
given to her family. Once I detected a "squeak," and her head was
instantly thrown to one side in a listening attitude. If it was the
note of the mate he did not approach the nest, the thick leaves hiding
the tree-top from which the sound proceeded.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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