The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-10-22

too callow, and his fedgling wings too weak, for down he sank, iuttering and falling into a big tuft of tall grass.
 As he was perfectly helpless, I picked him up and tenderly placed him back on the nest. To my surprise ana amusement, the bird did not attempt to escape; but he stood up bodily on the edge of his nest and looked straight at me in a defiant and saucy manner just like a starling. In the meantime the parent birds were whirring around my ears like angry wasps. But when they saw that meant no harm to their off, spring they alighted on q branch near by and watched me closely When retreated both seemed greatly relieved.
 Once I was spending few days in Santa Clara valley at a farmhouse. A large clump of climbing honeysuckle stood in one corner of the yard. l mo- tieed two hummers almost constantly lowering about these fragrant trailers, slipping at the flowers and capturing tiny insects. @ m.-+. .....
 I went out one afternoon and secre- ted myself in the clump so as to. ob- serve more closely the actions and pe- |culiarities of the birds. One was the largest humming bird have ever seen, and its plumage was simply gorgeous.
 Presently the birds came bustling around the clump, but they did not seem in the least alarmed by my pres ence. The largest one came very near, and actually flew against my face. I then held up my open hand. when the bird accidentally fitted straight into lit. Instantly I closed my fingers down and held him safe captive. -.. Then I critically inspected his plu- mage. It was brilliant beyond descrip- tion-dazzling. As the beautiful pris- loner did not seem to resent my famil- iarity, held him several minutes be- fore giving him his freedom.
 Still another experience had with a humming bird. One bright May day was sitting in small room at closed window. However, the door stood wide open, and through it darted a most brilliant little feathered gem. uick as flash the bird discovered it's mistake, It darted with full force against window pane and dropped on the floor at my feet. hastily picked 1t up. It seemed quite dead. But as I held the lovely little wingster in my open palm, silently sympathizing over it's hapless fate, the bird suddenly re- vived, and fitted out through the open door before could fairly wink.
 The whole structure of these crea- ltures is well knit and firmly compact ed. Clothed in beautiful plumage, the bird flashes before the vision like a blaze of jeWelry. Ruby amethyst and lall gorgeous rainbow tints are there with gleams of metallic tustre that dag gle one to look upon.
 I Many of these birds have fanlike ltails that, when spread out, look as if Eset with sparkling gems.
 Watch one of them dallying around Ia flower bank! Now It Is within a ward of your face-in an instant gone Now it fits from flower to flower tc .I sip the silvery dew and nectar. It is now a ruby, now a topaz, now an eme. trald again. now all burnished gold. O1 rall animated beings this is the mosi elegant i'll form and splendid in color. Iings. Precious stones and metals arti. ficially polished can never be compared \ to this rare jewel of nature. Indeed these creatures may Be called ''wingeG tgems, flashes of bird life.''
 l Their nests are marvels of beauty exquisite fabric constructed with mar, vicious delicacy. Two eggs are gener. lally deposited. The process of incuba
 tion rarely lasts beyond twelve days
 In the defence of eggs and young tn,
 birds are very bold-not hesitating t
 attack any intruding enemy. The LiI fiputs are fierce and persistent comba
 tants. sj3t
 Does the humning bird sing? H
 does, if one may call 1t song. Tn, lmorthern bird-ruby -throated (Troch illus colubris) is as ineffective in hi
 notes as a cricket with cold; in fact
 his song suggests just that comparison
 The creature does not, as so man,
 suppose, live entirely from the necta # slipped from flowers; but it capture
 and deyours myriads of small flies an
 tiny insects that also haunt flowers.
 By reason of its boldness the hum
 ming bird is not So difficult to capture
 and it is quite easily tanned. Tn cap 2 tivity the creature will greedily si
 honey mixed with water, but it mus
 have small insects, too, to live an thrive.
 The ancient Mexicans called thi
 bird Hoitzitziltototl, or Holtzitziln
 some writers have given it as Huitzet gel, and others as Yiciciin The an
 cient Peruvian name is said to b
 Quinti, and the Spanish appellatior
 Tonrincios, which latter seems to refe \ to the small size of the bird, tomi
 signifying the third part of a drachn
 orissa is another of the South Amer
 lean names, most of which have refer
 ence to the brillianey of the birds al
 pearance. These names may be trans
 lated into such phrases as Rays c the Sun," Presses of the Day Star, } ''Murmuring Birds, and the like. The Spanish and Portuguese ca
 them Plea horis that is, "pick flow : CTS" in allusion to their mode of fee6 ing. In parts of Mexico these birds al , termed Chupa-rose and Chupa-rnyrta-
 'Rosesucker and Myrtle sucker. The Mexieans have very poetical tre ) dition respecting these birds, whic they much admire for their boldnes dexterity on the wing and wonderfl ibrilliancy of plumage.
 1 T. nj