270 FROM BLOMIDON TO SMOKY. 



sapsucker was a young bird, who looked stupid, 

 and who received the rain by ducking his head 

 and vibrating his tail and wings as a bird does 

 when he bathes in a pool. But the ruby-throats 

 amazed me by their conduct. They sought leaf- 

 less twigs with only the weeping sky above them, 

 and there, apparently with joy, extended their 

 wings to the fullest extent, spread their tails 

 until every feather showed its point, and then 

 received the pelting, pounding rain as though it 

 were holy water. They became so wet that I 

 doubted whether they could fly. Buzz-z-z ! the 

 vigilant male darted at an intruding female and 

 drove her out of sight, only to see her return 

 again and again in the thickest of the white 

 drops in vain attempts to overcome his watchful- 

 ness. It was evident that no ordinary shower 

 could interfere with the whirring wings of a 

 humming-bird. 



As the season of 1893 wore on, the number of 

 humming-birds at this orchard diminished. Late 

 in July I saw not fewer than five birds near 

 the trees at one moment, three of them being 

 regular attendants and two interlopers. During 

 the next four weeks I was absent, but on my 

 return, I found that only the female using the 

 eastern tree remained, and that she was seldom 

 annoyed by visitors. The trees which had been 

 used by the other two birds had run dry, and the 



