INTERESTING LODGERS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2596, 2 March 1889, Page 2 (Supplement)

INTERESTING LODGERS.

A gentleman in South America has sent to England the following account of the fearlesness of a pair of humming birds : — " Early in August a pair of humming biids were nesting in an orange tree in front of my rancho. Just as the nest was finished a severe thunderstorm completely destroyed it. To my surprise, the next day the pair kept on darting in and out of my bedroom, and before night I found they had begun a new nest in a loop of wire hanging nearly over my dressing-tabl'". The weather being cold, I shut both door and window when I went to bed, and the first thing I heard in the morning was the indefatigable little pair, humming first at the door, then at the window, anxious to continue their work. They labored so hard that in rather less than a week they had finished their task, and no doubt congratulated themselves that this time at any rate it would not be blown away. The nest is most beautifully made, inside entirely of gossamer and spider's weh ) outside of small pieces of dead banana leaf, shingled one over the other so as to make it impervious to water. After the neat was concluded I never saw the cock bird again. For three days I saw neither of them, and thought they had deserted the nest, when on the third day, when I was taking my siesta, the hen bird came in and laid her first egg, an operation she repeated at the same hour on the third day after. Immediately after laying the the second egg she begau to sit. The first evening of her sitting, when I went to bed on lighting the lamp she showed signs of uneasiness, even rising a little off the nest and humming with her wings ; but I was careful to move about as little as possible, and she finally regained confidence and settled down, though she kept a very watchful eye on me all the time I was undressing. In a day or two she knew me well, never disturbing herself for me at all; but if anyone else came in, she would immediately fly out with an angry hum, returning at intervals of a minute or so to see if they had gone. On the loth day she hatched out the tiniest pair of young I ever saw ; they seemed to be all beak. The mother continued to sit on them for a week— night and day—at the end of that time she left them alone at night, reappearing generally just whan I was turning out in the morning, with their breakfast. It was a sight to see her feed them, as she plunged her long beak right out of sight down their throats ; and, watching her closely, I noticed that after feeding one she always had to throw her head back, as though to gargle np the drop of honey or whatever it was, for the other. Today, being three weeks old, my tiny visitors are busy humming about my room, delightedly trying their wings; and the last few nights, having quite given up the nest, they roost huddled together on the looking glass, the prettiest little pair of lodgers a man ever had. An amusing incident occurred a few days ago. The mother for the first time discovered the looking glass, and I watched her humming in front of it for some five minutes. 1 suspect she thought one of her youngsters was making fun of her; at any rate she often returned to look. I may add in conclusion that my neighbors say that some extraordinary piece of good luck must be in store for me, or the birds would not have built in my room. They also say that the humming bird never comes near a house where bad language is used. As a certificate of mine this ought to be conclusive, unless it be that she does not understand English."—Life-Lore.