Tommy Williams, age 11, of Skyland, N. C., for his questions

How are young humming birds fed?

Mrs. Hummingbird provides the groceries for her precious brood of babies, which are no bigger than bumble bees. She uses her longs curved beak to gather up small insects which hide themselves among the petals of fragrant flowers. She also gathers sweet nectar from certain blossoms. This food is collected and partly digested, then home she darts to feed her hungry family.

The mother bird pumps the food deep down into the throats of the baby birds. All day long she is kept busy darting to and fro, gathering food, partly digesting it and stuffing it into her children. In a few weeks however, she will be rewarded, for the youngsters will be ready to take off on their own. Come fall, they will fly south, across the Gulf of Mexico to spend the winter in southern Mexico or Central America.