The Calliope Hummer 
invokes the lady’s pity on his hapless plight. Pitiful it should be, but 
the rascal recovers suddenly, bounds aloft and makes again the court¬ 
ing swoop. As he does so, he brings out at the climax a tiny, rasping 
note—in fact the word “rasp" with a rolled r, thus, rrraspp, just about 
expresses it. 
An exquisite honeymoon ensues for the happy pair; but when 
nature’s purposes have been served, the stern madam banishes her ardent 
Taken in Fresno County Photo by the Author 
SLIM PICKINGS! 
YET THE CALLIOPE HUMMER IS AT HOME IN JUST SUCH A ROMANTIC SETTING AS THIS, PROVIDED AT THE BASE OF EAST 
VIDETTE PEAK 
spouse, and leaves him henceforth to vent his irascible humors on luckless 
woodpeckers and wandering chipmunks. The female Calliope is an 
inconspicuous object, colorwise, but she has a will of her own, and a way 
which even the collector learns to recognize. As Grinnell says: 1 “There 
are certain peculiarities of poise and flight impossible to describe intelli¬ 
gibly, which characterize it; and the attenuated and squeaky notes, so 
faint and difficult to locate, have a quality all their own.” Of their 
occurrence in the San Bernardino Mountains Dr. Grinnell says further: 
1 ‘‘The Biota of the San Bernardino Mountains,” U. of C. Pub. in Zool., 1908, p. 73 - 
919 
