xi 8- THE STORY OF A BIRD LOVER 



familiar Baltimore oriole of the East. Ravens 

 were by no means uncommon, and magpies, con- 

 spicuous in every landscape where they occur, 

 were frequently to be seen. Besides this, the 

 highest altitude attained gave us a climate equiva- 

 lent to that of Labrador in the summer ; and such 

 birds among the aquatic species as Wilson's 

 snipe and the golden-eyed duck were both found 

 and believed to breed at Twin Lakes. Great 

 numbers of red cross-bills and Canada jays also 

 indicated a bird fauna approximating that which 

 is called the Hudsonian. The broad-tailed hum- 

 ming-bird, a larger and more conspicuous form 

 than our rubythroat, was the only humming-bird 

 observed, and was very abundant. All this to 

 show how different and novel was the ensemble 

 of bird life. 



Throughout this drive the way was bedecked 

 with flowers, and curiously we witnessed, not the 

 phenomenon of spring turning into summer, which 

 every one has enjoyed, but of summer really turning 

 into spring, and spring again into summer, and 

 summer again into spring. This paradox becomes 

 clear when one realizes that in traversing this 

 route from Denver to Twin Lakes, the way leads 

 uphill and down, across considerable elevations, 

 and culminates in the passage of the main chain 

 of the mountains at a point a little over thirteen 

 thousand feet above the sea. 



