THE GNATCATCHERS AND VERDINS 



{Polioptila plumbea and Auriparus flaviceps) 



The plumbeous (lead-colored) gnatcatchers, 

 though not the smallest of the desert bird 

 pygmies, are surely its noisiest scolders. Their 

 raspish song, anything but musical, is uttered 

 with such frequency and in such a determined 

 and defiant tone that it always sounds as if 

 these midget birds were berating and throwing 

 challenges to everybody in the neighborhood. 



With never a minute for idleness they go 

 working their way from bush to bush, turning 

 this way and that, their restless tails all the 

 time wagging in unison with their fidgety bod- 

 ies. They hunt in pairs; one, generally the 

 male, takes the lead and the other follows close 

 by. As they move rapidly about, scolding and 

 chattering and scanning the bushes for insect 

 eggs, small caterpillars, and beetles, they re- 

 mind us of those talkative and active moun- 

 tain birds, the chickadees, except in that they 

 are not quite so adept as the chickadees at 



