120 



YOSEMITE NATURE NOTES 



breast white, contrast in colors marked; 

 sides and belly rich rufous; very narrow 

 black bars on bright reddish-brown tail; 

 lon<i, slender, slightly curved bill. Call 

 a series of clear, whistled notes on a 

 descending scale. Sometimes bobs. 



Frequents rocky, often shaded areas 

 in canyons. R. chiefly in the Upper 

 Sonoran life-zone but also in the Lower 

 Sonoran and Transition zones. Largely 

 in the western part of the Yosemite 

 region in the zones mentioned but has 

 been observed as far east as Merced 

 Lake: Often heard and sometimes seen 

 about sheer clifTs and talus slopes of 

 Yosemite Valley. 



ROCK WREN (Salpinctes ob so- 

 let us): 3-6 in. Above with often indis- 

 tinct sprinkling of dusky and white on 

 light brown; tail tipped with bufTy; 

 outer tail feathers black near tip; body 

 and head somewhat flattened; bill long 

 and slender; toes long. Bobs. 



Found especially in rugged, rocky lo- 

 cations, where it forages in crevices 

 or in the open; also may enter fissures 

 in logs and holes in the ground. More 

 independent of water than the canyon 

 wren. Found chiefly in the Lower and 

 Upper Sonoran life-zones but also on 

 up to the Hudsonian zone. R. at lower 

 elevations and S. V. in the higher 

 mountains. Widespread in the Yosem- 

 ite region having been seen at 10,500 

 feet in Mono Pass. 



MOCKINGBIRD 



10-11 



■»v,a# 



MOCKLNGBIRDS AND 



THRASHERS: Family Mimidae 



MOCKINGBIRD ( Mimus fwlyglot- 

 tos): 10-11 in. Dark gray above; whit- 

 ish below; large ichite patch in wing; 

 long dusky tail with outer tail feathers 

 white; flashes of white in wings and 

 tail in flight; eye pale yellow. Song 

 greatly varied, including imitations of 

 other birds. 



Frequents nearly level terrain and 

 foothills where there are scattered 

 bushes and small trees. R. chiefly in the 

 Lower and Upper Sonoran life-zones. 

 To be seen at lower elevations in the 

 western part of the Yosemite region. 

 C. V. to Yosemite Valley. 



SAGE THRASHER (Oreoscoptes 

 montanus): 8-9 in. Above grayish- 

 brown; below whitish faintly tinged 

 with bufly, streaked with rows of dark 

 brown wedge-shaped spots; outer tail 

 feathns edged and tipped with white; 

 straight, slender bill shorter than head; 

 iris yellow. When perched frequrntly 

 jerks its tail. 



Frequents flats and gentle slopes cov- 

 ered with sagebrush and in winter 

 other types of brushland. S. V. chiefly 

 in the sai;ebrush country- east of the 

 Sierra. W. V. in the San Joaquin Val- 

 ley. C. V. to Yosemite region. Frequents 

 ar 'a near Mono Lake. 



^CALIFORNIA THRASHER 

 (Toxostoma redivivum): ll/a-l^ in. 

 Above brown; throat grayish - white; 

 breast light brown grading to buff on 

 belly; tail long, rusty beneath at its 

 base; long, curved bill; relatively short 

 wings. 



Frequents chaparral, staying in or 

 near cover and foraging on the ground 

 in the 'eaf litter and soft earth where 

 plant food, insects, and spiders are 

 found bv digging with the bill. Also 

 forages in the upper story of plant 

 growth for fruits and berries. R. in the 

 Lower and Upper Sonoran life-zones on 

 the lower brushv slopes in the western 

 part of the Yosemite region to El 

 Portal. 



