. St. Nicholas [serial]. ew that I stoodseveral minutes before I becamegradually aware of a hummingsound just above my up, I saw a humming-bird flitting up and down, and, justabove, a red squirrel sitting motion-less and intently gazing at me. Oh,you rascal ! I said to the squirrel, you have dined off. humming-birdseggs, and the poor mother is trying toget you to go away. But I had donehim an injustice, for as I stood look-ing at him he suddenly started fromhis motionless position as though as-sured that I was harmless, and withquick motions began to rub his noseup and down the ba
. St. Nicholas [serial]. ew that I stoodseveral minutes before I becamegradually aware of a hummingsound just above my up, I saw a humming-bird flitting up and down, and, justabove, a red squirrel sitting motion-less and intently gazing at me. Oh,you rascal ! I said to the squirrel, you have dined off. humming-birdseggs, and the poor mother is trying toget you to go away. But I had donehim an injustice, for as I stood look-ing at him he suddenly started fromhis motionless position as though as-sured that I was harmless, and withquick motions began to rub his noseup and down the bark of the tree ina way that was entirely new to soon as the squirrel left his perch,the humming-bird flew to the tree andbegan sticking his bill into some of thenumerous holes in its bark. These holesI now noticed for the first time. Look-ing more closely, I saw that the treewas a cherry-birch, a tree which sheds its sapsatisfied easily in any of the hundred little pools very freely in springtime if cut or wounded,. \ RED SQUIRRELS AND HUMMING-BIRD EN-JOYING THE SWEET SAP EXUDING FROM THEHOLES MADE BY A WOODPECKER IN THEBARK OF A CHERRY BIRCH-TREE. 94Q NATURE AND SCIENCE FOR YOUNG FOURS. [Arc and in addition I could see places where thesap had trickled down the side of the tree andpartially dried. Tasting this, I found it plainlysweet but somewhat fermented. Here, then,was the solution of the queer behavior of birdand squirrel. The squirrels sweet tooth had ledhim to the feeding-ground of the humming-bird, much to the latters fear and annoyance. The bark of the birch had been fairly riddledwith holes by some woodpecker (probably thesapsucker) earlier in the season, and the saphad oozed from a hundred wounds. Higher up in the tree I discovered anotherred squirrel, also lapping (or rubbing) the syrupfrom the bark of the tree. Lower down alarge slug, nearly two inches long, was quietlyenjoying the indulgence of his sweet tooth,more scientifically known as lingual
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Keywords: ., bookauthordodgemar, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookyear1873
