RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD
428. Archilochus colubris. 3½ inches
This little gem is the only one of the family found within the territory included in this book. Owners of flower gardens have the best opportunities to study these winged jewels, on their many trips to and fro for honey, or the insects that are also attracted thereby. With whirring wings, they remain suspended before a blossom, then—buzz—and they are examining the next, with bill lost within the sweet depths. Their temper is all out of proportion to their size, for they will dash at an intruder about their moss-covered home as though they would pierce him like a bullet. Their angry twitters and squeaks are amusing and surprising, as are their excitable actions.
Nest.—A most beautiful creation of plant fibres and cobwebs adorned with lichens and resembling a little tuft of moss upon the bough on which it is placed. In June two tiny white eggs are laid (.50 × .35).
Range.—N. A. east of the Rockies, breeding from the Gulf north to Labrador and Hudson Bay; winters south of U. S.
SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER
443. Muscivora forficata. 14½ inches
This pretty creature is the most graceful in appearance of the Flycatcher family, if not of the whole order of perching birds. In the southwest it is frequently known as the “Texan Bird of Paradise.” Its habits are very much like those of the [Kingbird]; as it gracefully swings through the air in pursuit of insects, it frequently opens and shuts its scissor-like tail. They are usually found in open country or on the borders of woodland. They rarely alight on the ground, for their long tails make them walk very awkwardly, but when they are a-wing they are the embodiment of grace.