-14 ' ' ' THE CONDOR ............... t ' Vol.

invisibl:in. the gathe, ring dusk against the .dark background of the moist rock. wall. This:. species is following. the example of ,,the Black Phoebe (Sayornis. nigricans) and is taking .to building its neat on the timbers under bridges.' In, the Yosemite two.cases .of this sort occurred in the past nesting: season. The rumble and jarring of .the great'stream of automobiles together with their 'strident honking seemed ,to have .no effect in deterring these avi_an architect' from taking ,advantqge of such .sheltered spots, nor even in, disturbing their,?;:: serenity ..... ' ....... The Water Ouzel, or:Dipper, is rather common in the valley/and in fact aL'',, along thee Merced River, from its isourees in the higherSierras down to where broken water ceases as the' strsam 'nears the lowlands: .. Several were noted .. from the car windows of. the pazsing trairi far below the Yosemite Valley, and : it has been:aviously reported from' the 'very highest Sierras. :It is,never tame./. enough 'to pexmit very close approach, and'yet sufficiently :so to be easily 'seen and watched, A number of visitors to the valley have remarked upon its in- . teresting .habit of 'walking- unde water on the bottoms' of the streams, and have Seen it close enough .to notice some of its Other peculiarities, such as its funny ways of "bobbing ', .and its.manner"of dodging 'around amid the spray of the.waterfalls. The song of the Ouzel was not heard until the last days of September, by which time the birds seemed to have gotten through with their -family cares and the troubles.of the' moulting 'season and once more to feel like expressing their happiness in song. A plessant little song it is The thinest birds in the valley were the Western Robin (Plansticus migra- torius propgquus ) , Black-headed Crosbeak ( Zamelod4a melanocepkala ) and Western Tanager (Piranga ludovicana. While the robins were probably tlie most fearless of these three varieties, there.were imes and places whe n the other two almost allowed themselves to be.tepped upon,:. Robins breed in numbers in the valley, and beeorae as sociabl.e as they are in 'the ..eastern states:,' ., " Families .of Black-headed'Grosbeaks would' gather on th6 ground Where'a little hay had been scattered .and bebome so busy picking out the.' grains -from the dried stalks of 'oats, wheat.,or barley'that'theyWould prmit. a' person to.approach within a couple of ysrd before :itroubling $o get'out of the way. Even then they would sometimes take. anly a -few steps to'one side and assume an injured expression. Instarces were.related of .how theYthad flown on to Camp tables when the owners were at meals, and had gotten' away with the butter! In fact, from tales ,that were told, it ..would seem tha butter was one of-their'favoi'- ' ite articles of diet. .. : '. ." ' ::' Vestern...anagers also nest to some exten in th-I]ey. They were 0cc' :- siGnally seen, in August, but grew more. and mbre'n'iimer0us: eyidently gathering' from far and wide, as the berries of the "cascara sagrada'" became ripe, upon which they regaled themselves seemingly almost to the point'of bursting. At the .foot of a cedar tree close to ,the writer's tent in Camp Curry was one'of'these bushes. covered with fruit,..nea.r which many people passed 'in the'course' of hc day along one. of the camp avenues. Almost touching the bUsh'w'as a rounti::'table three or four feet in. diameter, and beside it a rustic roclig Chair. In ''Plte of people passing, .tanagers would drop 'down from the cedar'ree, even when the chair .was occupied, ond.it the occupant kept stiil' and was apparently indifferent . to tleir actions, woql,.go. so fara.z- to alighton the table: Had tiere been:'suffi - cierty stroag light, good snap shots could have been:take n ofbirds:teediri'qnside

0:f i feet'bu it W.aS[t0o dark under the trees ':" - ' ' ... '" ' :