Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-28

We hope the hunning bird comes
back this Summer.
Always we think Of him as one bird
the same bird, the eternal humminG
bird.
Lies eternal rrlmming bird, that's
what he Is, winging his way from the
South to the North, stopping aWhie
in our garden.
olus, prime lure for these delicate,
fairy, feathered creatures.
Now there are people who say that
they have never seen humming bird,
and we feel sorry for them.
They say no hunming birds come 70
their yards, but the chances are that
they have overlooked them.
The ruby-tl1roat, common to these
parts, Is almost insectlike, being no
larger than a big moth.
Unless one is looking for Mr.. Trocht-
lus Colubris and his mate, one will not
notice them, especially after the leaves
and flowers are out In full.
This species Is among the smallest,
averaging not more than 312 inches
from the end of the bill to the tip of
the tail. It Is said to be the only
humming bird found east Of the Mis-
Bissippi.
Its underparts are gray, its head and
beak green; the male has a handsome
ruby red throat, the female Is palmer.
Mothers who take good care OF their
babies should not be conceited, for this
tiny creature is regarded as an exem-
plary mother, too.
Those who want to be able to recog-
nize q humming bird when they see
one are referred to the new edition
OF the Encyclopaedia Britannica, where
q full page of eight photographs shows
a pair of birds lured by small, brightly
colored bottles of sugared water fastened
on a vine.
The pictures show the birds tackline
the bottles. putting on the brakes in
the air and looking quizzically at the
lures. Our second, putting on the
brakes" may need some explanation.
AS far as We know, this Is the only
bird that can keep itself stationary In
the air by tanning rapidly with its
wings. It's light weight, combined with
its ability to move its wings 80 that
they become a mere blur, accounts toT
this power.
We have seen these small birds come
head-on toward a window box filled
with petuniaS, giving beholders the i'm
preston that they were going TO plunge
Within an inch Of the flowers they
suddenly put on their aerial brakes and
stopped abruptly, as If they had hit in
visible bumpers.
One sultry Summer afternoon, at that
time when one is undecided whether to
call 1t afternoon or evening, male
humming bird came to the window box,
put on his brakes, and held himself
suspended before flower.
Moving only enough to crane his
neck and dip his beak into the f1uted
ruffled calyx, or whatever you call 1t,
of a petun1a, the beautiful bird set UP
an audible humning through the rapid
motion Of his wings.
They have another interesting noise
a slight squeak, which they often utter
as they dart to and fro in a yard, espe-
cially as dusk comes on, when 1t seems
as II they must consume little more
food for the night.
Just what they eat, whether nectar
or small bugs, we have never been able
to determine. Some authorities say
one, some the other. The new edition
OF the Britannica scorns such Grass de-
tails. But humming birds, for all their
beauty, must eat with the homeliest
creatures of earth.
X X X X
In CESSATION the mother hummine
bird functions with the precision of q
cash register, laying two eggs, which
are placed In nest about as big as a