SOMETHING ABOUT BIRDS [5] 



characters has been advanced. The white tail feathers of juncos and 

 meadowlarks and the conspicuous rump patches of many birds when 

 taking flight, for example, are supposed to be of value in directing birds 

 of similar species or in affording recognition marks to guide others of the 

 same species. 



Physically, color is produced in bird feathers by two methods: first, by 

 pigmentation, in which color pigments are actually deposited in the 

 feathers as they grow; and second, by feather structure, in which the 

 feather is so developed as to produce myriads of tiny prisms that break 

 up and reflect the light beams. These prisms against a background of dark- 

 colored pigments produce the ever-changing iridescent gorgets of the 

 hummers and the evanescent purple, bronze, and green reflections in some 

 of the blackbirds, ducks, and other species. 



SONG 



ONE OF the chief interests in birds is afforded by their songs. Many 

 species, in addition to call and alarm notes, have developed songs of 

 varied length, intensity, and complexity. These are a study in themselves, 

 and many books and articles have been written about different methods 

 of recording and studying them. Those interested in following this sub- 

 ject further should consult Saunder's books on bird song (cited in Bibli- 

 ography). 



It is widely believed that there are not so many song birds present in 

 the western as in the eastern part of the country. It is true that Cardinals, 

 Eastern Mockingbirds, Brown Thrashers, Catbirds, Carolina Wrens, and 

 others that make up the great bird choruses in towns and about homes in 

 eastern states are absent on the Pacific Coast. About most of the towns 

 are found only the Northwestern and Western Robins, Bullock's Orioles, 

 Black-headed Grosbeaks, Western House Wrens, Western Meadowlarks, 

 and similar species; but in the mountains there are songsters equal to any 

 to be found elsewhere. Along mountain streams, the beautiful song of the 

 Dipper, or Water Ouzel, may be heard above the noise of the tumbling 

 waters; and in the Cascades and the ranges in eastern Oregon the loud, 

 clear song of the Fox Sparrow rings from every thicket. Townsend's 

 Solitaire, a slim, trim, shy, gray bird of the mountain tops and juniper 

 thickets, has a song that cannot be excelled by any other bird in America; 

 and the second-growth thickets of spruce and fir along the summit of the 

 Cascades and the tangled jungles of salmonberry in the stream bottoms 

 ring with the weird minor melodies of the Hermit and Russet-backed 

 Thrushes, premier songsters of the American woodlands. 



Other bird voices are attractive, although they may not be called songs. 

 The wild, free call of the Olive-sided Flycatcher, flung from a lofty perch 

 on the top of a dead snag on a mountain slope, or that of the Pileated 



