T BY MARGARET L. BODINE With Illustrations from Photographs by the Author HE porch of our summer home in Maine is only 11 by 13 feet, quite in proportion to the Humming Birds which spend so many satisfying hours there. It is a second-story affair, bounded on two sides by the walls of the cottage, which is built on a bank. A clematis vine grows there in profusion, and on the wide railings are flower-boxes, which first made this nook known to our winged visitors. However, the flowers are not the secret of the porch's attraction for them, but miniature bottles, about two inches long, covered with some bright-hued material and filled with sugared water. These bottles are fastened among the blossoms and are speedily discovered by the Humming Birds. Once found, there are few daylight hours from the middle of June till September when at least one is not there. Sometimes as many as eight are feasting at a time. On the day after our arrival at our summer home last year we put the little bottles out, and in less than ten minutes the first Hummer came, drank, and perched. HUMMING BIRDS HAVE "TELEVISION” The Humming Bird's powers of vision are marvelous. One of the little mites, which we discovered for the first time with field glasses, sitting on a branch of a tree several hundred feet from the porch, watched us from there when we filled the bottles and was at the tip of the medicine dropper which was used for this purpose, before we were through. This happened very often, and, as much of her time was spent on the same twig of this bough, we felt that her nest was probably near by. But the tree was a very tall one and it was not possible for us to prove it. invariably drinking from the bottom of a bottle, where the overflow sugar and water ran down; never from the top, as would the average bird (see page 736). One was quite an acrobat, clinging to the bottle with its feet and bracing itself with its tail while it drank. ANY BRIGHT OBJECT AROUSES CURIOSITY Doubtless what seems to be curiosity in Humming Birds is in many cases a search for food, which consists largely of insects. caught in the air and of the nectar sucked from flowers. The tongues of these birds are long and tubular, and they extract the honey easily from such blossoms as the honeysuckle and the trumpet vine. They dine on many other favorites, such as the bee balm, larkspur, phlox, gladiolus, rose, and clematis. The Hummers investigate all bright objects on the porch: a red film box; one's purple sweater, in which the long bill is poked vigorously; they poise in front of the camera's lens or close to one's face, apparently studying it; or peer into each seed-cup of the birds' merry-go-round. The merry-go-round is a successful device invented to circumvent the red squirrel, which stole the seed from an ordinary hanging tray that was provided for other varieties of feathered guests. One day there was a male Purple Finch in our black birch tree close by the porch, brilliant raspberry-colored in the sun, which was shining brightly on him. A young Hummer, evidently mistaking the Finch for a sweet flower, darted at him and gave him repeated jabs. The Finch, appearing much bored, moved from spot to spot and finally flew away. Our Humming Birds have certain favorite perching places: on the handle of a fern basket; the highest point of a wishbone-shaped root, where the larger birds land when coming to us, and in the tiny swings which are made just wide enough. for them to alight without brushing their outstretched wings. There is more individuality in birds of all species than is generally realized. The marking and shape often vary, but more especially do their actions differentiate the members of one family, and for this reason we were able to recognize certain Humming Birds whenever they came to see us. "Crazy Jane" is an example. A One afternoon, when we returned after friend named her because of her habit of an absence of several hours, we found A RENDEZVOUS OF THE TINY FEATHERED FOLK As many as eight Hummers at one time have visited this porch of a summer cottage in Maine. Other birds, chipmunks, and flying squirrels have also been attracted to its clematis-covered precincts to be "shot" by a camera (see text, page 738). A LILLIPUTIAN BATTLE ROYAL Nothing on wings can invade the domain of a Humming Bird with C BIRDS OF MANY KINDS ENJOY THE HOSPITALITY OF THE AUTHOR'S HOME If provided with food and drink, or shelter and sanctuary, they will soon come to be on intimate terms with their benefactors. Note the Humming Bird drinking from a bottle attached to a twig on the right (see text, page 731). A RENDEZVOUS OF THE TINY FEATHERED FOLK As many as eight Hummers at one time have visited this porch of a summer cottage in Maine. Other birds, chipmunks, and flying squirrels have also been attracted to its clematis-covered precincts to be "shot" by a camera (see text, page 738). A LILLIPUTIAN BATTLE ROYAL Nothing on wings can invade the domain of a Humming Bird with impunity. Larger birds usually forsake the field when he attacks, but bumblebees are not so discreet or else are more intrepid, for they frequently dispute the issue (see text, page 736). |