148 THE MALE RUBY-THROAT. 
with all speed, pausing under such scattered 
trees as had been left standing in that quar- 
ter. Nothing was to be found, and on my 
return there sat the male, provokingly, at 
the’ top of the apple-tree, whence he soon 
returned to the ash. A warbler entered the 
tree, and after a while ventured upon the 
branch where the hummer was sitting. In- 
stead of driving her away he took wing 
himself, and paid another visit to the apple- 
tree, — a visit of perhaps five minutes, — at 
the end of which he went back to the ash. 
Then two kingbirds happened to alight in 
the apple-tree. At once the hummer came 
dashing over and ordered them off, and in 
his excitement dropped for a moment into 
the leafy top of a birch sapling, —a most 
unnatural proceeding, — after which he re- 
sumed his station in the ash. What could 
I make of all this? Apparently he claimed 
the ownership of both trees, and yet his nest 
was in neither! He sat motionless for five 
minutes at a time upon certain dead twigs 
of the ash, precisely as our female was ac- 
customed to sit in her apple-tree. For at 
least seven days he had been thus occupied. 
Where was his mate? On the edge of the 
