204 DENIZENS OF THE DESERT 



and it is always an exciting time when they 

 meet at the cross-trails and settle their disputes 

 in beaky arguments. They are always noisy 

 birds, but at such times a pandemonium of 

 screechy, quarrelsome bird notes is set loose 

 upon the air. The plumbeous is generally the 

 aggressor and he drives out his rival at any 

 cost of feathers. 



This pugnaciousness of the plumbeous gnat- 

 catcher is manifest toward all birds when the 

 occasion arises to protect his rights. Woe be to 

 the bird, even though he be a large one, that 

 shows himself too familiar and aggressive a 

 visitor in the mesquite and cat's-claw bushes 

 where the plumbeous gnatcatchers have built 

 their nest. 



There is another tiny bird, the verdin, which 

 lives in the same region and which is of the 

 same small size, nervous temperament, and 

 restlessness as the gnatcatcher. There are good 

 chances that the novice will confuse the two 

 birds unless some attention is given to learning 

 the field marks which distinguish them. Both 

 are birds with grayish or lead-colored backs 

 and fluffy, lighter underparts. The male ver- 



