Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1877-07-25
Little House. Builders.


near a rose-bush or trumpet honey
suckle on a Summer afternoon, and
caught the flash of transparent, many
colored wings, and seen something as
airy and graceful as a bunch of thistle
down hang for moment over a rose
and then disappearg "That was a
hu unming- bird" some one says, aud you
watch aud wonder If it will come again,
and perhaps whole Summer will pass
without your seeing another.
There are several varieties of these
wonderful little creatures, from the size
of a small wren down to that of hum
ble-bee. They are found in America
and some of the very warm countries,
but not in Europe. The smallest hum
miBg-bird Is about the size of u hazel
nut. The feathers on its wings and
tail are black. but those on its body and
under its wings are of a greenish brown.
IL has a small crest on its head, green
at the bottom and, As it were, gilded al
the top, aud which sparsles In the sun
Inc iitllC liiC va iiS
forehead. The bill Is black, straight,
slender, and the length Of 4 small pin.
The large hunming-bird Is nearly
bali as large as the common wren, and
with no crest ON its head; bat TO make
amends IL is covered on its thro-. and
breast with chsngeable crimson feathers
that ia different lights change TO a
variety OF beautiful colors. much like
an opal.
The heads of both are small, with
very little, round eyes, almost as black
a. jet. These birds are never still, but
continually in motion, visiting flower
after flower, and taking out the honey
as If with kiss. For this purpose they
are furnished with = forky tongue that
enters the cup of the flower. Upon this
honey alone they live. The rapid
motion OF their wings brings out q
humming sound, and from this they
have their name.
You can think how very small these
wonderful little birds are when l tell
you their nests can hang securely from
the end of leaf. An orange or pome-
granate or citrOn leaf are what they
seem to prefer, but several kinds select
rocks and twigs, aud some have actually
been known TO build right in house
where people were living, or 10 make
nests hanging over the salt waters OF
the sea, attached TO twig of wild vine.
The pretty nests are funnel-shaped,
and in some the end of the funnel is So
long and narrow il may be called Il tail.
They are made of moss, the silky
fibres of flowers, the cotton-like down
OF seed-vessels. and sort of woody sub
stance, which is supposed TO be taken
out of some kind of fungus; and all
these various materials are safely bound
and knitted together with-whst do you
think: You will never guess, so had
better tell you at Once-with spiders
webs. We are in the habit of thinking
that spiders weave their webs only 70
catch flies, and probably that is what
the spiders think themselves; but the
humming birds know better. To them
the spiders are like what the masons
are to us, who mix mortar TO hold
together the brick or stones with which
we build our houses.
There l. great variety in these webs;
some have long elastic threads, some
are soft and felt-like; and the clever
bird makes use of each just for the pur-
pose for which it is most fitted. With
the first, il ties the materials together,
with the second ii weaves through
them, producing firm mass capable of
resisting wet and rain; aud with these,
too, il secures tn, IA 10 the leaf. The
nests are sometimes adorned outside
with seeds and sometimes with lichens.
The saw-bIlled hummine bird has Il
slender bill, notched in a saw-like fash
ion. The nest of this bird is very curl
Gus indeed. and l am sure you will
agree with me in thinking so, when ]
tell you that it is made of fine vegetable
fibres, woven together so as 10 look like
an open network purse, the outside
walls being SO loosely made as to per-
nit the eggs and lining to be seen.
Leaves, moses and lichens are also
woven into the nest and are packed
rather tightly under the eggs. The
edge, however, is always left loose, and
the nest is suspended at the end of some
leaf, usually that of the palm.
The bar tailed humming-birds' nests
are made of vegetable fibre and moss,
and finished with the longest and
aueerest tails, the same as great many
humming- birds nests, and for no rea-
son at all apparently. The nests are
lined with hair, and are hung against
the side of rock or u wall, sometimes
being attached TO the wall itself, but
generally suspended from some twig or
hanging root.
The bird always selects some spoi
where the nest can be sheltered by an
0verhanging ledge of rock, probably
because the nest is made SO very loosely
that the dear little bird knows she must
protect ii in some way from the wind
and ChurchDsdn.