214 KEELER 



which were singing about us. I was delighted to hear the 

 American titlark or pipit in its full summer frenzy of song. 

 Throughout the winter large flocks of this species haunt 

 the fields and open hillsides of California, running about 

 over the ground and pausing every now and then with a 

 peculiarly characteristic teetering motion of the body. 

 At that season I have never heard any note save their 

 faintly reiterated lisping call. They are simply colored, 

 with an olive-brown back faintly streaked with blackish 

 lines, and a pale brownish-buff breast covered with dusky 

 marks. In summer time the colors are much clearer and 

 sharper, the wings and tail being nearly black, varied with 

 white, and the breast becoming a warmer brown. But the 

 song of the pipit interested us more than its dress. This 

 blithe sprite of the norfrhland, lark that he is, would fly 

 straight up in the air, singing in an excited manner a flute- 

 like, though very simple, crescendo tiuit! ttuit! tivit! 

 ttvitl and then suddenly descend, still singing and flut- 

 tering, pausing only in his breathless strain as he alighted 

 on the ground in the gorge hundreds of feet below, where, 

 no doubt, his mate was awaiting him with hushed expect- 

 ancy. 



Again, as at the summit of White Pass, the golden- 

 crowned sparrow sang in the inverted sequence of notes, 

 but it sounded none the less sweet and appealing. Among 

 the stunted alder thickets the dwarf thrushes were singing 

 in great numbers. Their strain, while much thinner and 

 finer than the song of the russet-backed thrush, has a 

 truly spiritual quality that lends it charm. It is a sweet, 

 silvery call with a slight liquid gurgle in its trill, and gives 

 the effect of distance even when the singer is close at hand. 



Townsend's sparrow was also common and in song. 

 Its note was frequently varied, with just a suggestion of 

 the song sparrow's tone. The syllables most often re- 

 peated sounded thus: ts-tui! ts-iui! tsi-tsi-tsi'-a! We 



