112 



YOSEMITE NATURE NOTES 



gion. Its monotonous pee-ur may be 

 heard throughout Vosemitc Valley in 

 summer. 



OLIVE -SIDED FLYCATCHER 



(Nuttallornis borealis) : 7j4-8 in. Above 

 sooty-brown except patch of white on 

 each side of rump; white patches some- 

 times hidden; dark sides separated by 

 whitish streak that extends from white 

 of throat to yellowish-white of belly; 

 large head with partial crest; tail short. 

 One of the larger flycatchers. Song a 

 clear, strong wher, whee, whew, the 

 second note the highest, the third with 

 a slurring drop in pitch. Song also 

 suggests What peeves you? Call a short 

 tip-tip or tit, tit, tip, on one pitch and 

 often repeated. 



Breeds in broken coniferous forests, 

 chiefly in the Transition and Canadian 

 life-zones. Seeks high perches, often 

 dead stubs of coniferous trees. S. V. 

 to Yosemite region. Present but not 

 common in Yosemite Valley. 



LARKS: Family Alaudidae 



HORNED LARK (Eremophila al- 

 pestris): 7-8 in. Upper parts mottled 

 with gray and pinkish-brown; forehead 

 yellowish; black bar on each side of 

 crown continuing back to include two 

 hornlike tufts of feathers, one on each 

 side of head, inconspicuous or wanting 



in winter; tail black with narrow edge 

 of white on outer tail feathers; throat 

 yellow; black crescent on breast; black 

 bars on face. Female: Similar but 

 smaller and colors duller. 



Frequents open level or gently roll- 

 ing country where there may be few 

 or no trees, such as short-grass prairies, 

 desert flats, mountain meadows, and 

 fallow fields. R. in the Lower and 

 Upper Sonoran life-zones. In the Yo- 

 semite region may be seen at lower 

 elevations to the west and in summer 

 on high mountain meadows. Occasion- 

 ally seen in Yosemite Valley. Seen on 

 fenceposts in the foothill grasslands 

 along State Highway 140. -• 



VIOLET-GREEN 

 , SWALLOW 



r. 



/ 



HORNED LARK 



7-8 



ROUGH-WINGED 

 SWALLOW 



'^yi/^^-^^^M^W: 



