THE AMERICAN WATER OUZEL. 



327 



sioned sharp passages at arms served to cimlinii the conehisinn that the terri- 

 tor_\- had been divided, and tliat each l)ir<l was e.\i)ected tn di\e and Ijnh and 

 gnrgle on his own beat. Thus, twenty-se\en birds were fontid to occupy a 

 stretch of two miles. 



Here in winter (piarters, the first courting songs were heard. As early as 

 Ciiristnias the birds 

 began to tune up, and 

 that cpiite irrespective 

 of weather. But their 

 utterances were as 

 rare in time as they 

 are in quality. In fact, 

 it does not appear to 

 be generally known 

 that the Water Ouzel 

 is a beautiful singer, 

 and none of those who 

 have been so fortun- 

 ate as to hear its song, 

 have heard enough to 

 pass final juflginent 

 r)n it. We know, at 

 least, tliat il is clear 

 and strong and viva- 

 cious, and that in its 

 utterance the bird re- 

 calls its affinity to 

 both Thrushes and 

 Thrashers. 



The Ouzel places 

 its nest beside .some 

 brawling stream, or 

 near or behind some 

 small cascade. In do- 

 ing so, the chief solici- 

 tude seems to be that 

 the living mosses, of 

 which the bulky globe 

 is composed, shall he kept moist by the tl>ing sprav, and so retain their 

 greenness. Indeed, one observer reports that in dcfaidt of ready-made 

 conveniences, the bird itself turns s])rinkler. not only alighting upon 

 the dome of its house after returning from a Iri]), hut visiting tlie water 



Caltfornta. 



Photo by Frederick Bade. 



THE I,.\ST STATION. 



NOTiriCR MOMENl 



