Could you give the title to the text
and subheadings to each paragraph?
A. The restless activity and general appearance of the
Humming-bird make one almost hesitate to believe that it is really a bird and
not a brilliant tropical insect. It possesses no song; few people see it except
on the wing, and its nest is so rarely found that to most people the bird is
merely a sudden apparition, seen hovering over a flower, its ruby throat
sparkling in the sun. When the Humming-bird's nest is discovered, it turns out
to be a structure as delicate and rare as its little architect. It is often fixed
on a lichen-covered twig, frequently in orchards, but as often on tall forest
trees. To the outside of the nest, bits of gray lichen are fastened, so that at
a distance the nest is mistaken for a knob of the twig itself. The eggs are
always two, ridiculously small, like pea beans.
B. The Humming-bird is not a good father. He neglects all
the domestic duties, being rarely seen near the nest after it is completed. The
female brings up the two young birds unaided, feeding them by thrusting her
long bill into their gaping mouths and pumping food into their throats. The
process has been described as "a frightful-looking act." The food
thus administered to the young consists, probably, of soft-bodied insects, for
when Humming-birds visit flowers, it is not only to gather honey, but also to
capture the smaller honey-gatherers.
C. Many charming stories have been told of the
fearlessness of the Humming-bird. It had often been observed that birds fed
from flowers held in the hand, but it remained for Mrs. Soule to make
artificial trumpet-vine flowers, and by filling them with sugar water, to
provide a daily feast for her Humming-bird neighbors. Though the birds are very
irritable and pugnacious when wild, frequently attacking each other with the
shrill squeaks which are their only notes, yet, in captivity, they prove very
gentle and almost affectionate. The Humming-bird has discovered another method
of obtaining the sweet liquor which it loves.
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