286 The Lesser Birds of the Sierra 
this crag from which the head-piece to this chapter is taken, on 
the spot. I ever retain a lively recollection of the incident owing 
to my comrade upon some subsequent occasion when I annoyed 
him more than usual, having expressed his fervent regret at having 
‘ever pulled me back up that cliff” ! 
The young Thrushes obtained on this day proved to be most 
amusing pets, eventually finding their way, some to the aviaries at 
Lilford and some to the Zoological Gardens, where they had more 
scope for their antics than when caged. 
In 1878 my attempts to get the eggs of this bird were unceas- 
ing. On 23 March | found a nest ready for eggs in a low cliff, but 
the old birds, which watched me closely when I climbed to it, for- 
sook it and moved elsewhere. On 10 May I recovered the lost 
clue and found a nest with five young just fledged within 20 yards 
of the nest of 1877, and on 18 May yet another nest with four 
young in a hole in the roof of a big cavern but still no eggs. 
I reached this nest by the old birdsnesting expedient of building 
up a human pyramid of my brother subalterns, the base being 
formed by Henry Prittie (now Lord Dunalley), the middle portion 
by Fergusson, and the apex by me. Having erected the structure 
against the wall of the cavern, Prittie cautiously stepped backwards 
until I was exactly under the nest. 
In 1879, warned by previous failures, | commenced operations 
earlier, and even on the days when I was prevented by my military 
duties from leaving the Rock I devoted all my available time, on 
guard or off guard, to watching suitable cliffs. At this time an old 
cock Blue Thrush in his beautiful plumage used to come daily to 
the cross on the top of the South Chapel and sit there for hours, from 
time to time uttering the short sweet song so often heard in the 
remote sierras. I watched him fly to Rosia Bay where I spent no 
less than six days in March watching the movements of a pair in 
the sea-cliffs. 
