144 THE MALE RUBY-THROAT. 



Iii last month's article 1 I set forth some- 

 what in detail (if the adverb seem inappro- 

 priate, as I fear it will, I can only commend 

 it to the reader's mercy) the closeness of our 

 watch upon the nest there described. For 

 more than a month it was under the eye of 

 one or other of two men almost from morn- 

 ing till night. We did not once detect the 

 presence of the father, and yet I shall never 

 feel absolutely sure that he did not one day 

 pay us a visit. I mention the circumstance 

 for what it may be worth, and because, what- 

 ever its import, it was at least a lively spec- 

 tacle. It occurred upon this wise : On the 

 19th of July, the day when the first of the 

 young birds bade good-by to its cradle, I 

 had gone into the house, leaving my fellow- 

 observer in the orchard, with a charge to 

 call me if anything noteworthy should hap- 

 pen. I was hardly seated before he whistled 

 loudly, and I hastened out again. Another 

 hummer had been there, he said, and the 

 mother had been chasing him (or her) about 

 in a frantic manner ; and even while we were 



1 These two humming-bird papers were printed in 

 consecutive numbers of TJie Atlantic Monthly, June and 

 July, 1891. 



