164 A-BIRDING ON A BRONCO. 



to side. Then she made two holes in the ground, 

 probing deep with her long bill. After taking 

 what she could get from the second hole, she 

 went back to the first again, as if to see if any- 

 thing had come to the surface there. Then she 

 lay down on the sand to sun herself and acted 

 as though going to take a sun bath, when sud- 

 denly she discovered me and fled. 



When watching the bird at work I got a 

 pretty picture in the round disk of my opera- 

 glass. The glass was focused on the digging 

 thrasher, but a goldfinch came into the picture 

 and pulled at some stems for its nest and a cot- 

 tontail ran rapidly across from rim to rim. I 

 lifted the glass to follow him and saw him go 

 trotting down the path between the bushes. 



The thrasher's curved bill gives a most ludi- 

 crous look to the bird when singing. He looks 

 as if he were trying to turn himself inside out. 

 I once saw an adult thrasher tease its mate for 

 food, and wondered how it would be possible 

 for one curved bill to feed another curved bill ; 

 but a few days later I came on a family of young, 

 and discovered for myself that they have straight 

 bills ; a most curious and interesting instance of 

 adaptation. 



At the head of the garden stands a tree that 

 always reminds me of the horses I rode in Cali- 

 fornia. I watched my first bush-tit's nest under 

 it, with Canello grazing near ; and five years later 



