SOME CANADIAN BIRDS 



motionless, before a wide-opened bloom set high 

 in the bank. 



It stays, alas, for the briefest time in full view ; 

 in a moment more, its gleam is lost in the mazes 

 of wood, but we have at least caught a fleeting 

 vision of the ruby-throated humming-bird, the 

 wonderful little migrant that comes back faithfully 

 to its summer home in May. 



Later in the day, we mark another bird that we 

 have long wished to see in its native haunts. It 

 is fluttering at the edge of the wood, but it rests 

 at last, on an outstretched branch. It bears the 

 unmistakable golden-orange and black uniform 

 of the Baltimore Oriole. 



We see many other interesting forms in our 

 too brief stay : a purple grackle, like a long, 

 slender jackdaw, but iridescent like a starling : 

 a belted kingfisher, bright plumaged, but less 

 graceful than our own familiar bird. 



And morning by morning, we see in the grass 

 the bird like a hen-blackbird with a dull red 

 breast — a familiar sight, indeed, on every Canadian 

 lawn — the American robin. 



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