316 THE ROCK WREN. ' 



of the Cascailfs, cliiclly coiiliiK-d to cliffs of Coliiiiihiaii lava; casual west of tlic 

 Cascades. 



Authorities.— I" R.ick wrcii,'" Johnson. Rcj). Ciov. \V. T. 1884 ( 1885), p. 22.] 

 Lawrence. Aiik, IX. 1892, 47. 337. T. !.'. IV. D''. Ss". Ss^ Kk. 



Specimens. — I*. C. 



"iU"!' li.iriciiness. Loneliness, sudi-like things. 



That gall and grate on the White .Man's nerves, 

 \\ as the rangers that camped by the bitter sjHings 



And guarded the lines of (iod's reserves. 

 So the folks all shy from the desert land, 

 '(."ept mehhe a few that kin imderstanil." — Chirk. 



.\ di>cerning sonl is Salf'iiuti-s. lie loves heyonil ;dl else the nplifted 

 ramparts of basalt, the bare lean battlements of the wihlerness. They arc 

 the walls of a sanctuary, where he is bi>th verger and choir master, while 

 n])on the scarred altars wliicli they shelter, his faithfid spouse has a place 

 "where she may lay her young." 



The kock Wren is nestled among the most imjiressixe smroundings, but 

 there is notliing subduc<l or melancholy about his l)earing. Imleeil, he has 

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

 brooding too heavily upon them. His song is. therefore, one of the spright- 

 liest, most nmsical, and resonant to Ik' heard in the entire West. The rock- 

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

 ever task to sing a hymn of wildest exultation. Whltlirr. whit tier, u^hitticr. 

 is one of his finest strains: while ha-xvhcc. kn-xdicc. ka-'n'hcc is a sort of chal- 

 lenge which the bird renders in various tempo, and |)unctuates with nervous 

 r>obs to enforce attention. P'or the rest his notes are to<i varied, s|)<)ntaneous, 

 and untrammeled ti> admit of precise description. 



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

 sprite. If you clamber to his haunts he will remove, as matter of course, a 

 hundred y.irds along the cliff: r>r he will Hit across the coulee with a unncha- 

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

 whimsically return — near enough |KMhaps for you to catch the click, click 

 of his tiny claws as he goes over the lava blocks. |)oking into crevices after 

 spiders here, nibbling larv.-c in vapor holes there, or scaling sheer heights 

 yonder, without a thought of vertigo. 



.\t nesting lime the cliffs present a thousand chinks and hidcy-lioles, any 

 one of which would d<i to put a nest in. The collector is likely to Ik' dismayed 

 at the wealth of jMissibilities before him. and the birds themselves ap|R"ar to 

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



