FEBRUARY IN BERKELEY 



is the character of the tail-feathers. In the rufous hum- 

 mer the two feathers next to the central one are broad 

 and deeply nicked, these same feathers being plainly 

 pointed in Allen's hummer. The outermost pair in the latter 

 species is extremely narrow, while in the former bird these 

 feathers are fully double in width. In general the rufous color- 

 ing is less intense in Allen's hummer, and the bird is a trifle 

 smaller in size. 



As we pass the live-oaks, a party of California jays salute 

 us with their merry squawking call, the blithesome Audubon's 

 warbler, ever in motion and ceaselessly uttering its short tsip, 

 tsip, flits from spray to spray, and the big red-winged flicker 

 flies hastily away at our approach. The shy, Alaska hermit- 

 thrush, in its hues of brown, shrinks into the bushes with an 

 occasional chucJ^, chuck, which gives no intimation of the 

 glories of its summer song. 



Only once during my rambles about Berkeley have I dis- 

 covered the strange Townsend's solitaire. It is a bird of the 

 west, quite as unique among North American forms as the 

 wren-tit or phainopepla. It is much like a fly-catcher in gen- 

 eral appearance, but in structure more closely allied to the 

 thrushes. It is rather larger than a sparrow in size, decidedly 

 longer and more slender, and is colored a plain, slaty gray all 

 over, becoming lighter upon the under parts of the body. It 

 usually inhabits the mountains and is a rare, shy creature, very 

 easily overlooked on account of its severe coloring. 



Another bird which, although not rare during the winter, 

 may very readily escape detection on account of its quiet man- 

 ners and dress, is Hutton's vireo. It is a small bird about the 

 size of a warbler, dull, olive-greenish upon the back and whitish 



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