In a Mission Patio, 



and clean cut. This warbler was com- 

 mon about the mission and surrounding 

 country during my stay there — a bright, 

 animated bird with a sharp tsip of a 

 call-note. 



At almost any time of the day we 

 may see from the mission patio the 

 black form of the turkey-buzzard sail- 

 ing overhead with peerless command of 

 the air. We note the separated tips of 

 the long flight-feathers, giving the wing 

 the appearance of having a frayed 

 edge, the contrast of color between the 

 black body and heavy shoulders, and 

 the wing-quills, which show the sunlight 

 through them, giving a light brownish 

 appearance. The buzzards were well 

 fed, I fear, during our visit to Capis- 

 trano, for the drought was so protracted 

 that the old sheep were not strong 

 enough to nurse their young, and many 

 a lamb was left by its helpless mother, 

 dead upon the hillsides. 



Then there are the barn-owls which 

 are so inseparable a feature in my 

 231 



