The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1878-03-30
0rnithOlOap.
HUMMING BIRDS OF THE OALIFOR.
MA WATERFALLS.


MA WATERFALLS.
One winter morning, when the Merced
river was blue and green with unmelted
snow, l observed one of my ouzels perebed
on snag out in the midst of swift rush.
ing rapid. He sang cheerily, as if every.
thing was just to his mind, and while |
stood on the bend admiring him he sud.
denly J plunged into the sluggy current,
leaving his song broken abruptly off
Alter feeding minute or two at the bot
tom, and when one would suppose he must
inevitably be swept far down stream. he
emerged just where he went down, alighted
on the same snag, showered the water
beads from his feathers, and at once con-
tinued his unfinished song, splicing it to-
gether as If it had suffered no interruption
The ouzel alone Of all birds dares To
enter white torrent. And though strict
" terrestrial in structure, no other Is so
lnseparably related to water, not even the
duck, or bold ocean albatross, or storm
petrol. Ducks go ashore when they have
done feeding in undisturbed places, and
frequently make long overland flights from
lake to lake or from field 10 field. The
same IS true of most other aquatic birds.
But our ouzel, born on the very brink of
stream, seldom leaves it for single
moment. For, Notwithstanding he is Of
ten on the wing, he never flies overland
but whirrs with rapid, quail-like beat. above
the stream, tracing all its winding modu-
latlons with great minuteness. Even when
the stream is quite small, say from five to
ten feet wide, he will not try to shorten
his flight by crossing a bend, however
abrupt 1t may be; and even when disturbed
by meeting some one on the bank. he pre-
fers to fly over ones head to lodging out
over the ground. When, therefore. his
night along a crooked stream is viewed
endWise, 1t appears most strikingly waver-
ed-an Interpretation of every curve in
scribed with lightning-like rapidity on the
air.
The vertical curves and angles of the
most precipitOus Alpine torrents he traces
with the same rigid fidelity. SWooping
adown the inclines of the cascades, drop
ping sheer over dizzy falls amid the spray,
and ascending with the same fearlessness
and ease, seldom seeking to lessen the
steepness Of the activity BY beginning to
ascend before reaching the base of the fall.
No matter how high it may be, he holds
straight on as if about to dash headlong
into the throng of booming rockets, shen
darts abruptly upward, and, after alight-
ing at the top of the precipice to rest a
moment, proceeds to feed and sing. His
flight is solid and impetuous without any
lntermission of wing beats-one homoge-
neous buzz like that of loaded.bee on its
way home. And while thus buzzing freely
from fall to fall, he is frequently heard
giving utterance to a long outdrawn train
OF unmodulated notes, in no way connect
ed with his song, but corresponding closely
with his flight, both in sustained vigor and
homogeneity of substance.-John Afltir IN
ScribAers Monthly.
The humming birds form one compact
family, named Trochilida. They are all
small birds, the largest known being about
the size of swallow, while the smallest
are minute creatures whose bodies are
hardly larger than n humble bee. Their
distinguishing features are excessively
short legs and feet, very long and pointed
wings, long and slender bin, and a long
extensible tubular tongue; and these char
acters are found combined in no other
birds. The feet are exceedingly small and
delicate, often beautifully tufted with down
and so short as to be hardly visible beyond
the plumage. The toes are placed as in
most birds, three in front and one behind.
and have very strong and sharply curved
claws, and the feet serve probably to cling
to their perch rather than to support the
weight of the body. The wings are long
and narrow, but strongly formed, and the
first quill is the longest, popularity found
in hardly any other birds but few of the
swifts. The bill varies greatly in length,
but is always, long, slender and pointed,
the upper mandible being the widest and
tapping over the lower at each side, thus
affOrding complete protection to the tongue,
the perfect action of which is essential to
the birds existence. The humming birds
tongue is very long, and is capable of be-
ing greatly extended beyond the heak and
rapidly drawn back, by means of muscles
which are attached to the hyoid or tongue
bones, and bend around over the back and
top of the head to the very forehead, Just
as in the woOdpeekers. The two blades.
or lamine, Of which the tongues of birds
usually seem to be formed, are here greatly
heightened, broadened out, and each rolled
up, so as to form a complete double tube,
connected down the middle, and with the
outer edges in contact, but not united.
The extremities of the tubes are, however.
fiat and fibrous This tubular and retrac-
tile tongue enables the bird to suck ND
honey from the nectaries of flowers, and
also to capture small insects; but whether
the latter pass down the tubs or are entan-
gled in the fbrOus tips, and thus drawn
back into the gullet is not known. The
only other birds with a similar tubular
tongue are the sunbirds of the East.
which, however, have no affinity whatever
with the humming-birds.- Wallace, IN
Fortaightiy ReUielo.
Mr.. Gould, the distinguished ornitholo-
gist, has collected upwards of 1000 spec
linens of humming birds, comprising 800
species, whereas only ten species were
known TO Linneus; in 1924, Mr.. Bullock
collected 100 species; and in 1912. Lod-
dige possessed 1876. Their splendor of
plumage probably gave rise to the popular
error that humming birds are only found
in the East. They, however, exist only
on the Continent of America, in the West
India Islands, and in the islands of the
Pacific. They do not necessarily require
a high temperature, for they can support
an intense degree of cold. In the Andes.
at the height of Z 900 or 5000 feet, they
are most abundant, and they glitter even
above the snow line, at $4,000 or $4,000
feet. ChimbOrazo has its peculiar bird,
and so has Pichinoha; and every valley of
these wild regions exhibit some variety in
form and color.
H., l.. L