3i6 THE ROCK WREN. 



of the Cascades, cliiefl}' confineil to cliffs of Columbian lava; casual west of the 

 Cascades. 



Authorities. — |"I\ock wren," Johnson, Rep. Gov. W. T. 1884 (1885), p. 22.] 

 Lawrence, Auk, IX. 1892, 47, 357. T. L". D'. D-. Ss'. Ss-'. Kk. 



Specimens. — P. C. 



"BUT Barrenness, Loneliness, such-like things. 



That gall and grate on the White Alan's nerves. 

 Was the rangers that camped bv the bitter springs 



And guarded the lines of God's reserves. 

 So the folks all shv from the desert land, 

 'Cept niebbe a few that kin understand." — Clark. 



A discerning soul is Salf'ijictcs. He lox'es beyond all else the uplifted 

 ram]jarts of basalt, the bare lean battlements of the wilderness. They are 

 the walls of a sanctuary, where he is both verger and choir master, while 

 upon the scarred altars which they shelter, his faithful spouse has a place 

 "where she may la}- her young." 



The Rock \Vren is nestled among the most impressive surroundings, but 

 there is nothing subflued or melancholy about his bearing. Indeed, he has 

 taken a commission to wake the old hills and to keep the shades of eld from 

 brooding too hea\ily upon them. His song is. tlicrefore, one of the spright- 

 liest, most musical, and resonant to be heard in the entire West. The rock- 

 wall makes an admirable sounding-board, and the bird stops midway of what- 

 ever task to sing a hvmn of wildest exultation. Whit tier, whit tier, whitticr. 

 is one of his finest strains ; while ka-zn'Iicc, ka-zvhcc, ka-wlwc is a sort of chal- 

 lenge which the bird renders in various tempo, and pimctuates with nerxous 

 bobs to enforce attention. For tlie rest his notes are too varied, spontaneous, 

 and untrammeled to admit of precise description. 



Save in the vicinity of his nest, the Rock Wren is rather an elusive 

 sprite. If you clamljer to his haunts he will rem(i\-e, as matter of course, a 

 hundred yards along the clitT; or he will flit across the coulee with a noncha- 

 lance wdiich discourages further effort. Left to himself, however, he may 

 whimsicallv return — near enough pcrhai)s for you to catch the click, click 

 of his tin\' claws as he goes over the lava blocks, poking into crevices after 

 spiders here, nibbling larvae in vapor holes there, or scaling sheer heights 

 yonder, witliout a thought of vertigo. 



At nesting time the clifTs present a thousand chinks and hidey-holes, any 

 one of which would do to put a nest in. The collector is likely to he dismayed 

 at the wealth of possibilities before him, and the birds themselves appear to 

 regret that they must make clioice of a single cranny, for they "fix up" half a 



