134 



AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



passages. At such times the pompous strut and quivering wings 

 of the little man are very comical, and he makes the most of 

 his loosely hung tail, jerking it up and down to punctuate all 

 his remarks. Now they have hopped away together and the woods 

 are silent again. 



Bye and bye a slight rustle in the dried leaves announces a 



new arrival. If you keep perfectly quiet you will find that a 



Pasadena Thrasher has been taking observations, first with one 



eye and then with the other, and has decided that the new tenant 



on the ground floor is quite harmless. She comes quite near, 



hopping on both feet, and rakes the ground deeply with her long 



sickle-shaped bill, trying to reach through the leaves to the moist 



earth, where grubs may be found. Always with eye tovv^ard the 



stranger, she circles about at a distance of five or six feet. You 



can study each feature as well as if she were in your hand. If 



you go to the same place day after day, she will come to know 



you, and you may count on a regular visit. Her mate will sit 



on the top twig of a small evergreen oak near by and pour out 



his wonderfully rich, varied song, full of the life and joy of the 



South. Now comes a soft "quit, quit, quit," and an answering 



twitter of little voices. A Valley Quail, or California Partridge 



comes tip-toeing out, warily looking to 



right and left, and followed by a band of 



well grown youngsters A neat, trim figure 



he is, the sun glancing from his sheeny buff 



breast with its ripple marks of russet. As 



he steps gingerly along, the plume on his 



helmet quivers, rising and falling with each 



change of mood. Now he goes cautiously 



down to a tiny stream of water to drink. All 



of his well trained band stand 



in line behind him, each waiting 



his turn, instead of all rushing 



down in a disorderly riot to 



wet their throats. It is a very 



pretty sight when the father 



finally allows them to go down 



in single file, while he keeps 



guard, standing on a tiny 



promontory. The last misses 



his chance, for a snapping twig 



gives the alarm and at a word 



