108 BIRD-SONGS ABOUT WORCESTER. 



fauna, while the other two belong to the' 

 Apalachian. It is a well-known fact, how- 

 ever, that on the sides of mountains we 

 often find birds and flowers alike which 

 properly belong to regions much further 

 north, the difference in altitude correspond- 

 ing to the difference in latitude, so that the 

 climates of the northern low lands and of 

 the southern high lands are the same. 

 Moreover I had seen the common slate- 

 colored snow-bird, which is especially char- 

 acteristic of the Canadian fauna, near the 

 summit of Wachusett in August, and felt 

 convinced that it must have nested there, 

 as it was too early for the fall migrations. 

 Now, if the snow-bird nested there, it was 

 fair to suppose that the hermit-thrush 

 nested there also, and might therefore be 

 heard singing up on the mountain in the 

 month of June. Accordingly I took a trip 

 to the mountain yesterday with the express 

 purpose of solving this interesting prob- 

 lem, if possible. But I had never heard 

 the song of the hermit and had never been 

 able to obtain a satisfactory description of 



