THE HUMMING-BIRDS OF CHOCORUA. 271 



sapsuckers as well as their uninvited guests had 

 abandoned them. Of the identity of the remain- 

 ing humming-bird there could be no question; 

 her ways were too strongly marked to be mis- 

 taken, as, for example, her invariable habit of 

 alighting upon one slightly sloping trunk when 

 she drank from its drills. When September 

 drew near I watched closely to ascertain the date 

 of the little lady's departure, but day after day 

 came and went without my missing her. At 

 last, on September 1st, it seemed to me that she 

 had gone. I had waited ten or fifteen minutes 

 by the trees and she had not come, though the 

 sapsuckers were busy at the drills in their ac- 

 customed places. Before finally giving her up 

 I thought that I would count a hundred slowly 

 and see if this form of incantation might not 

 draw her to her trees. "When I reached " ninety- 

 nine " and no bird came, I concluded that the 

 exact date of her migration had been found, but 

 as I said " one hundred " there was a faint hum 

 in the still air, and the dainty dipper appeared 

 with her usual sprightliness. On the 6th, after 

 several light frosts had laid their chilly touch 

 upon the Chocorua country, I felt confident that 

 the tiny creature must have sought a kinder 

 climate. Again, however, she surprised me by 

 appearing, after a long delay, as bright as ever. 

 She hummed at her regular drinking places, but 



