Page:Condor3(6).djvu/4

? 40 THE CON.I)OR I Vol. I I I few sweet notes. To my mind it's a very sweet song, but quite out of keep- ing with one of whom such dreadful things are told. So far as I have ob- served, he is quiet and well-behaved about here, feeding on worms mainly. Lacking evidence, I shall decline to be- lieve the stories of cannibalism and malicious cruelty. Out of all this medley of voices came a clear, joyous note which told me that robin redbreast' was campin? near. With my glass I saw him on the top branch of one of the trees, and then tie was off again. I do not think he is as friendly as the eastern robin, though his notesproclaim him to be just the same saucy, vivacious fellow. One of the flock which came about was hurt in some way, probably colliding with a wire fence, and died in the yard, at- tendedby adeeply concerned linnet. This gave me what I had waited for,--a chance to study him close by. Since the above was written our bird visitors have been numerous. Audu- bon's warbler w,as about the yard for a week or more before we identified him. He became friendly, even to the point of sitting on my clothes-line. During the heavy rains he made quite a deter- mined effort to come through the win- dow screen into the attractive shelter within. At that time he was alone, but I noticed quite a flock of them later. The intermediate sparrows began to come the first week of February and soon took up their abode in a brush pile, where they found many clioice tidbits,--from a sparrow's standpoint. After the rains the meadowlarks came back in great flocks. Side by side with Brewer's blackbirds they strut along, bobbing this way or that for food, very much after the manner of a chicken. Their song is a wonder and a never- ending joy to us. Sometimes a lone singer will perch on a branch near the house and will go through a series of trills, whistles and low gurgles, ending finally in a glorious burst of song. About the middle of February for the first time this season, I heard the pileo- lated xvarbler's song. His sweet little call-note made me aware of his presence some weeks before this. The Arkan- sas goldfinch makes several visits daily to sip a few drops of water from the hydrant. Linnets are as numerous and as noisy as ever and very busy these daysmnong the pepper grass which grows in abundance here. The blue- birds are very quiet. [hearonly an oc- casional peep from them, though many have been in the yard. We called them the western bluebird since we heard no s(.ng. They are welcome visitors aud make up for lack of song by the bril- liant flash of color when they fly. The last week in January I heard such funny lisping sounds, entirely. new to me. Up?m close investigation with a glass I saxv a flock of cedar waxwings in a near-by sycamore tree, much inter- ested inthe?r breakfast while all the time they kept up that lisping chatter. Man), other birds have been seen but not clearly identified. I feel quite sure I saw a flock of American tit-larks; they had'that leetering tnotion, as they Iool?ed about for food, described by Keeler in "Bird Notes Afield." We are now getting ready to enter- tain h(stsof bird visitors another sea- son by setting out a strawberry patch and planting a variety of loganberries and blackberries, besides a mulberry tree, which will doubtless prove a great favorite later on. How many berries will be left for our own use. remains to be seen. At the time of writing (March) meadowlarks, goldfinches, blue- birds and intermediate sparrows have quite deserted us, only a few coming back for a hurried call now and then, instead of the daily visit of last month. Perhaps they have gone to the cool of the canyons or to richer feeding grounds. They disappeared so quietly and suddenly, somew. hat after the man- ner of the Arabs, "who fold their tents and quietly steal away." Great flocks of robins and blackbirds fly over but scarcely deign to look this way. Some