. The human side of birds . h others feathers in quite afriendly and efficient manner, not unlike our mod-ern barbers and hair-dressers. Humming-birds are the most fastidious, the mostbeautiful, and the most diminutive of all the feath-ered tribe. Their native haunts are only in Amer-ica, and chiefly in the parts of South Americawhere the climate is very warm. They fill the placetaken in the Old World by the sun-birds. In Indiathese sun-birds are often referred to as humming-birds; but the real humming-birds are confined toAmerica. The brilliancy of their colours, the ele-gance of their forms,
. The human side of birds . h others feathers in quite afriendly and efficient manner, not unlike our mod-ern barbers and hair-dressers. Humming-birds are the most fastidious, the mostbeautiful, and the most diminutive of all the feath-ered tribe. Their native haunts are only in Amer-ica, and chiefly in the parts of South Americawhere the climate is very warm. They fill the placetaken in the Old World by the sun-birds. In Indiathese sun-birds are often referred to as humming-birds; but the real humming-birds are confined toAmerica. The brilliancy of their colours, the ele-gance of their forms, and the manifold arrange-ments and colour effects of their costumes is in-describable. The broad-tailed humming-birds are most carefulabout their toilette. Every morning they go tobathe at daylight, however cold and damp the airmay be. They are fond of having party-baths, likethe old Romans, and may be seen in such nimibersas to remind one of a swarm of bees; hither andthither they dart, in their rapid flight, dipping here. Humming-birds are most at home among the orchids of the tropics, and areas varied in form and colour as are the orchids themselves. COPVRIGHT, 1917, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY BIRDS AND THEIR PARLOURS 163 and there into the water with their feet and breasts,and repeating the act until their plumage is thor-oughly cleansed. When they have completed theirdainty toilettes, these beautiful little winged-elvesgo forth upon their daily duties amid the at the end of the day they often gather againto refresh themselves with another dainty dip be-fore seeking their homes for rest. The famous saber-winged humming-bird is oneof the most beautiful of bird beings. With itsbrilliant green and violet-blue hues, and tail of blackand white, it is more like some brilliant orientaljewel than a bird. This little fellow bathes in thedew that collects upon the leaves of trees. Certaintrees that hold the moisture in their foliage becomedainty bathing resorts, and
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Keywords: ., bookauthordixo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectbirds
