January in Berkeley. 



build of the bird is as different from a 

 thrush as can well be imagined. Note 

 the stout beak, the thick-set, stocky 

 legs, the compact shape of the body. 

 See with what vigor it scratches away 

 the dead leaves in search of food. It 

 is a solitary bird during its winter 

 sojourn in our southern latitudes, and 

 never a very abundant species, although 

 by no means rare. Occasionally it ven- 

 tures into our Berkeley gardens and 

 scratches about under the rose-bushes, 

 but I fancy it is ill at ease here and 

 anxious to be back in the sequestered 

 canon. 



In the more open country, especially 

 among the live-oaks, flocks of western 

 bluebirds are not infrequently seen at 

 this season. The male bird is a deep, 

 intense, glossy blue upon the back, and 

 a lighter blue upon the throat and belly. 

 The breast and a patch upon the back 

 are chestnut. In the female the brilliant 

 blue is much subdued and replaced in 

 part by brownish gray. The bluebirds 

 130 



