IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. 87 
Only once have I found the two species in the 
same neighborhood. That was near the Breezy 
Point House, on the side of Mount Moosilauke; 
but this place is so peculiarly romantic, with its 
noble amphitheatre of hills, that I could not 
wonder neither species was willing to yield the 
ground entirely to the other; and even here it 
was to be noticed that the hermits were in or 
near the sugar-grove, while the Swainsons were 
in the forest, far off in an opposite direction.1 
It is these birds, if any, whose music reaches 
the ears of the ordinary mountain tourist. 
Every man who is known among his acquaint- 
ances to have a little knowledge of such things 
is approached now and then with the question, 
“ What bird was it, Mr. So-and-So, that I heard 
_ singing up in the mountains? I didn’t see 
him; he was always ever so far off; but his 
voice was wonderful, so sweet and clear and 
loud!” As arule it may safely be taken for 
granted that such interrogatories refer either 
to the Swainson thrush or to the hermit. The 
inquirer is very likely disposed to be incredu- 
lous when he is told that there are birds in his 
own woods whose voice is so like that of his 
admired New Hampshire songster that, if he 
were to hear the two together, he would not at 
1 T have since found both species at Willoughby Lake, Vermont, 
and the veery with them. 
