50 GOULD'S COQUETTE. 



all the year round with blossom. But at 

 certain seasons their beauty reaches per- 

 fection. They are a mass of fruit and 

 blossom. 



Then come the beautiful birds in flocks, 

 sparkling and shining and glistening in the 

 sun like gold and gems. 



They whirl about the trees, darting so 

 swiftly that you can scarcely see them. 

 When they pause, it is but for a moment. 

 Down goes the bill, and the bird is off 

 again, darting from blossom to blossom, 

 not in a regular manner, but at random, 

 and as by caprice. 



Sometimes two Humming-Birds come 

 to the same flower. Then they quarrel 

 violently, and mount upwards, doing fierce 

 battle with each other. But the storm soon 

 passes over, and the birds dart off again in 

 search of insects. Their movements are 

 so rapid that the eye cannot catch the 



