594 HISTORY OF PASADENA. 



and lined with grasses and feathers. It is stuck on the side of a barn or 

 house under the eaves, Hke a swallow's nest, or it may be attached to rocks, 

 or tree-trunks, or in tunnels, or under bridges. One of the rarer flycatchers 

 is not uncommon in our mountains, especially in the Arroyo Seco canyon. 

 It is a large, dark-looking bird called the olive-sided flycatcher. This bird 

 is quite shy and hard to see, as it is usually perched on the tops of the naked 

 dead pines high up on the mountain-side. It can easily be located, how- 

 ever, by the loud resonant call which it constantly utters during the early 

 morning and in the evening. 



Thk Kingbirds are familiar to the bee-ranches, as their food consists 

 chiefly of bees. They have a very harsh note and the birds seem to be 

 constantly quarreling with each other. 



Our Orioles have about the same habits as the Baltimore oriole of the 

 East; they are just as highly colored, and sing fully as well. The orioles 

 here often take possession of the banana trees and palms, in which they 

 build their nests, the palm fibres forming favorite nesting material. 



The Butcher-bird [Shrike] is more ferocious and cruel in proportion 

 to size than any other bird. It has the well-known habit of capturing and 

 impaling small animals or insects on sharp thorns. A few of the animals 

 which I have found thus sticking on thorns are, wild canary (Arkansas 

 goldfinch), western chipping sparrow, Gambel's sparrow, linnet (house finch), 

 young chickens, mice, horned toads and other lizards, besides a large variety 

 of insects. The butcher-bird seldom sneaks on its prey like a cat, but catches 

 it in an open race. I have seen a butchie chase a goldfinch for fully two 

 minutes. The goldfinch escaped through its superior ability to dodge, 

 though the shrike could fly very much faster. I have seen a California 

 shrike catch and carry off" a Gambel's sparrow, which is a bird about seven 

 inches long, the shrike being only eight and one-half inches in length. The 

 butchie swooped down on the bird which was feeding in the grass, and pro- 

 ceeded to inflict a quick succession of blows with its beak on the back of 

 the sparrow's head. This probably stunned the sparrow, and the butchie 

 grasped it with its claws and flew laboriously off with it. I ran after him 

 and succeeded in frightening him into dropping his victim. On examining 

 the sparrow I found that it was not badly hurt, but nearly scared to death. 

 Jerusalem crickets form the bread-of-life for the butchie, though he often 

 indulges in linnets. On the whole, this shrike does a great deal of good in 

 killing insects. 



Note. — For some reason Mr. Grinnell overlooked the mocking-bird, 

 but it is too distinctive and characteristic a feature of Pasadena scenery to 

 be left out of our bird sketch ; and here is what Van Dyke says of it : 



"The sweetest of all the song-birds is the mocking-bird. In size he is 

 about the same as the Virginia mocking-bird, a little more trimly built, and 

 with similar colors but a little differently arranged. The tone of his voice 



