Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-10-08

getting caught in the webs. and the larger
spiders bodily defend their homes against such
intrusion. The bird will actually enter the
laoyrinths OF the web In search OF entangied
ues, where sometimes there IL scarcely room
Tor Ids little wings to perform their office, and
tne least deviation would entangle him in the
compiler fntricacies Of ropes and guys On the
ePp,oacn OF the angry owner the robber shoots
on Ike sunbeam.
THE CAUSE OF THE BRILLIANT HuEs
used to be supposed that the brillian. huss
OF hummins birds we're due to pigments, but IL
u nov known that they are attributable to the
structure Of the feathers. Each feather, when
minussly inspected, exhibits myriads Of little
iacess so:disposed as TO present SO many angles
TO the Incidence Of light, which Is thus
dinracted or broken up into vivid rainbow
tints. In most species the gorgeous colorstion
peculiar 70 the males, the females being, e. .
RUE, devoid OF refulgent hues and ornamental
PIumes In only one species, found in Jamaica,
u the female more beautiful than the male.
The colors are variously distributed In different
species. Some, instead Of having luminous
tnroats, nave the halo Of radiance transferred
TO their crowns, which are blue, violet, red or
green. Frequently there ia a spot Of glittering
emerald green on the forehead Occasionally
the metallic luster Is confined 10 the rump,
while brilliantly tinted tails are very common
The "comst' humming birds have long forked
tails OF glowing red, But no description in
$3.50 ."h SA'o uouOn OF the vlv1Q Dceutle6
OF the humning bird, which fits from flower
to flower.
Shrink from the sPspdoS q hls sorpsous breast.
snss r %ins1E
Now : sE q sss, ESd they dealing shows
VARIED IN COLOR
The stuffed remains Of the .'feathered gems
In museums convey to the eye no conception Of
their beauty in life One species from Nootka
sound changes Its throat instan neously from
the most vivid FIRE color to light green, while
the Mexican star" alters similarly from bright
crimson to blue. Humming birds spend most
OF their time on the wing They differ from
all other birds in their manner of fight, which
Is entirely that of an insect, especially a large
beetle or bee. An exception TO this rule is
found In the giant humming bird Of the Andes,
which, while lowering over a flower, flaps its
wings with very slow and powerful move
ment, totally different from the vibrstory one
common to most Of the species While In
tropical regions the humming birds are perma-
nent residents, those Of temperate ATTITUDES
make extensive and regular miarations, going
south In the spring and returning north in the
autumn. Some Of them make an annual migra-
ton Of nearly 1000 miles. Though they perch,
they are not able to progress on the ground
or on any fiat surface by means Of their
legs and feet alone The giant humming
good
sized swift, being nearly nine inches long.
The smallest known species is Princess Helenafs
humming bird, Of Cuba. the entire bulk Of
which is much less than the head alone Of the
giant hummer, its total length being only lit
tie over two inches. OF the seventeen kinds Of
humming birds found within the limits Of the
United States the finest IL the rivoh humming
bird, belonging to the Mexican table lands but
occurring also in southern Arizona 1t il nearly
six inches long, and the male las a brilliant
emeral6-sree throat with rich metallic violet
on top Of the head.
THE BILLS OF HUMMINa BIRDS
constitute one of their most interesting features
inasmuch as they seem 70 be especially designed
with relation to various kinds of flowers In
order to reach the honey glands Of certain long
trumpet-shaped blossoms common in it's region
the sword bearer has a beak more than five
inches in length. which contains a tongue cap
able Of being protruded nearly as far beyond ita