THE HUMMING-BIRDS OF CHOCORUA. 



While snow still sparkles in the frost furrows 

 on Chocorua's peak, the first ruby-throats appear 

 in the warm meadows and forest glades at the 

 south of the mountain. They love the flowers as 

 others of their race love them, and when apple 

 blossoms bless the air with perfume and visions 

 of lovely color and form, the humming-birds revel 

 in the orchards of the North as their brothers 

 delight in the rich flowers of the tropics. It is 

 not, however, among flowers that the Chocorua 

 ruby-throats are happiest or most frequently 

 seen. Were some one to ask me to find a hum- 

 ming-bird quickly, it would make no difference 

 what the age of the summer or what the hour of 

 the day, I should turn my steps toward the for- 

 est, feeling certain that at the drinking fountains 

 of the yellow-breasted woodpecker, the red-capped 

 tapster, and loud-voiced toper of the birch wood, 

 I should find the ruby-throats sipping their fa- 

 vorite drink. 



About the middle of April, and again nearly 

 six months later, a mischievous and wary wood- 

 pecker migrates north and south across New 



