108 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 17-No. 7 



yellow cheeks, black throat and white breast 

 with irregular black marks at the sides, 

 showed him to be a Golden-cheeked Warbler 

 {Dendroica chrysopaj-ia), and an old nest in a 

 tree close by encouraged me to se irch for his 

 home but I did so in vain. 



In the deep, shady canon between the 

 mountains Texan Tufted Titmice {Parns 

 hicolor texensis). Cardinals, White-eyed and 

 Black-capped Vireos {Vireo noveboracensis and 

 Vireo ntricapillus) were always in sight, but 

 their nests w-ere not so noticeable. 



Following the course of the trickling stream 

 that ran down the canon to the west, birds 

 were few, Cardinals were chirping in the 

 underbrush and several Chuck-wiirs-widows 

 (Antrostomus carolinensis) were flushed from 

 the darker thickets. A group of cattle, 

 mavericks and strays, gazed wonderingly at 

 me for a moment, then turned and dashed 

 away through the thick cedars, pausing 

 occasionally to watch me, but starting on as I 

 came near. 



After a long, hard tramp over hot limestone 

 mesas, made hotter by a dense covering of 

 mountain cedars, the cool shade of elm and 

 pecan trees growing at the junction of Bull 

 Creek and the Colorado River are veiy 

 pleasant. Here Mockingbirds, Nonpareils, 

 Orchard Orioles and a few Crows (Corvus 

 americanus) were feeding ; from yonder gray 

 cliff marked with long lines of green, where 

 maidenhair feins have obtained a foothold on 

 water-bearing strata, the clear, full notes of a 

 Caiion Wren {Catherpes mexicamis conftpersits) 

 came rippling down, to be repeated again and 

 again by countless echoes until they died 

 away in the distance. 



Passing on through thistle patches, where 

 sometimes in the spring and fall, Mexican 

 Goldfinches {Spinus psaltria mexicanus) come 

 to eat the seed, I followed the road that 

 wound along between the river and steep 

 cafion walls, that rose almost from the waters 

 edge. In the rocks and thick brush Rock 

 Sparrows {Peuccea rvficeps eremceca) were 

 flitting here and there seemingly without rest. 

 High up on the side of the cliff a Pho3be 

 {Sayornis phoebe) was laying the mud founda- 

 tion for his nest, while above him in a tuft of 

 grass, a Boucard's Sparrow (Pucma rujiceps 

 houcardi) sat on her four eggs, unmindful of 

 the hot sunshine that beat on the stone around 

 her and withered the grass that i^rotected her 

 nest. 



As the sun neared the western horizon, 

 Turkeys and Black Vultures that had wheeled 



over the country in broad circles all day, 

 sought roosting places, the smaller birds took 

 shelter in the thick bushes, the tree frogs 

 began their weird chorus, and as the sun went 

 down Texan Screech Owls were lieaid on 

 every side. Occasionally the gl oslly ciifs of 

 a Western Horned Owl awoke the echoes 

 through the dim cafions and flying away, left 

 the woods still as death. But gradually the 

 usual night sounds began and continued until 

 they were interrupted again. 



Western Nighthawks were circling over- 

 head in quest of insects as I entered the city. 

 The town clock struck nine when I arrived 

 home, tired, without having collected anything 

 of importance, but well satisfied with my 

 tramp. J. H. Tallichet. 



Austin, Tex. 



The Water Ouzel. 



Mr. Bliss of Carson City, Nev., an acquaint- 

 ance of mine, has made seveial trips into 

 California. During these trips he has noticed 

 particularly some interesting habits of the 

 Water Ouzel. He says : 



"I have taken three nests of the Water 

 Ouzel. One, which I take as an example, was 

 constiucted as follows : the nest was placed 

 on a flat rock side of a rushing mountain 

 stream. It was built of moss and neatly lined 

 with leaves and Avas shaped like a dcnie hav- 

 ing a small opening in the side. The striking 

 thing about the nest was the freshness and 

 greenness of the moss. Wondering at this, 

 I determined to discover the cause. After 

 watching a short time, I saw the Water Ouzel 

 hovering over the spray caused by a plunging 

 cascade. When the little bird had become 

 literally dripping with moisture it hovered 

 over the nest shaking the water completely 

 over the moss." 



Mr. Bliss gives the following reason for this 

 singular irrigating tendency. 



The Water Ouzel says to itself, "In a short 

 time with no moisture, the moss will become 

 gray and parched, consequently conspicuous to 

 man and beast ; by shaking water on it, it will 

 continue to be fresh and green and so become 

 hardly distinguishable from the surrounding 

 verdure." 



This reason of Mr. Bliss' is a good one, 

 though perhaps a little doubtful. Still the 

 instinct comes singularly near to reason. 



B. R. WJdte, Jr. 



Chestnut Hill, Mass. 



