The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1898-08-25
nuMMiNo BIRDS.
OnIy Species That Oaa Move Backward
While Poised On the WING.

While Poised On the Wing.
Most Of the hummers sip honey from
the flowers. Poised on wings that
move so rapidly that they appear like
semi-circle Of 1lm around their
swaying bodies. the birds insert their
long beaks into the tubes Of the fow-
ers and extract nectar with relish. It
is true that some of the warblers and
kinglets will sometimes p0ise In this
way before a leaf and peck an insect
from its surface. but this occurs rare
~. and is not a regular habit Of these
birds. The susurrus of the hummer's
wings, as he balances in the air or
darts from flower to flower, has given
the birding his name. One of the most
wonderful features Of hummer flight
Is the birds ability to move backward
while on the wing-probably the only
instance in which a bird is able to ac-
complish this feat Mr.. Ridgway says
that this movement is greatly assisted
by forward flirt of the birds ex-
banded tail.
There are. however. q few exceptions
to this rapid manner of flight, even In
the hummer family. One of the most
striking is that Of the giant humming
bird, which flaps its wings in a slow,
leisurely way as it hovers over flow
er, much like the desultory vibrations
Of large butterfy's wings. During
fight its tail is constantly expanded
and closed like fan and its Body Is
kept in an almost vertical position
and seems to be suspended from a CEN
trail point. 1t is not to be wondered
at that the humming birds are sought
for decorative purposes. Their rich
colors and bright ornaments make
them a tempting prize to the lovers OF
gaudy fashion. Vast numbers are
slaughtered in Mexico and South
America, being killed with fine shot
or caught with nets and lime On ac-
count Of this ruthless destruction some
species are said to be on the verge
OF extinction, and, Of course, it will
be exterminated first At sale held
in London on March q, 1888, more than
$4,000 hummer skins were disposed of,
and in one week 400 900 hummers and
other American birds were sold in
London at auction. A brilliant hum
mer fitting airily amid the foliage and
flowers is thing of beauty and a
Joy forever" on a wOman's bonnet
such a decoration Is a little short OF
garish. All the colors of the spec
trum, with many intermingled tints,
are combined in their plumage. so that
some Of them seem to be truly kaleido-
scopic. One of the most striking Or
naments Of many of the hummers is
the "gorget," as it is called-that is,
a cleaning throat patch of imbricated
feathers. In the common ruby throat
it is ruby, as the name implies; in sew
eral species, like Costa's humming bird,
the tips OF the feathers are purple
and the basal portions snow white.
In others they CLEAN in the most metal
lie red or violet. Sometimes the feath-
ers Of these gorgets are elongated into
a beautiful run on each side of the
neck or into a bearded tuft reaching
down from the chin.
Still more wonderful are the crests
worn by a number OF the species There,
for instance. is Guergin's helmet crest,
whose head is surrounded by a tall.
slender topknot that looks like a min
iature pyramid, while a pointed beard
of almost the same length depends
from its chin. Princess Helena's CO.
Quette has a double crest. both parts
running to a sharp point. making them
look like two tiny horns. while its
gorget is decorated at its base with a
semi-circle of elongated feathers that
stream out like remnants. The span
gled ccQuette has a crest of the fin
est spray spread out in the form OF
a round fan, dappled with metallic
black spots.
No less varied and wonderful are the
tails of the hummers Robert Ridg-
way says: The shape and develop
ment of the tail feathers Of the hum
ming birds vary to degree that has
no parallel among other birds, many
Of the forms assumed being also
entirely unique" There are deeply
forked and scissor-shaped tails.
tails, double-rounded |
and double-emarginated tails, tails |
with streamers Of curious forms, tails |
whose quaint and elaborate structures |
defy description by any specific terms. |
Several species have long feathers that |
sweep around In graceful festoons.
either running parallel or crossing |
each oIner. These pennants are often
free of vanes, save at the end, where
there is a broad, fan-like expansion.
In one form these elongated append
ages make a graceful double curve and
cross each other twice. In another
they bend outward and then turn and
cross each other near the end like
two curved swords.-London News.