Jan., 1918 EARLY AUTUMN BIRDS IN YOSEMITE VALLEY 13 



ground on the trunks of oak trees, or performing gymnastic feats among the 

 lowest branches. Although mentioned in Grinnell's list (not in Emerson's or 

 Widmann's) this species is deemed rather rare by some of the valley people, 

 and its appearance in numbers seems to indicate one of those waves that occa- 

 sionally sweep over this country, of unknown origin or purpose. 



The Mountain Chickadee (Penthestes gambeli gambeli) was another bird 

 that appeared in numbers as the time for colder weather approached, and in 

 similar manner was at first more frequently heard than seen, but later on was 

 often noted feeding low down in friendly flocks with the nuthatches. One 

 morning just such a combined flock was feeding along through the woods, as 

 is its wont, when it came to a beautiful little glade whose sole avian occu- 

 pant at the moment was a male hummingbird, probably Selasphorus rufus. 

 One of the Mountain Chickadees worked its way from branch to branch until 

 it drew near the dead twig on which was perched the hummingbird, where 

 upon it made a most vicious assault upon the innocent hummer and, not satis- 

 fied with driving it away from its own particular perch, kept returning to the 

 attack every time its victim settled down again, repeating these assaults until 

 finally the poor hummingbird left the glade in disgust. 



For noise and size the Northern Pileated Woodpecker (Phloeotomus pile- 

 atus abieticola) is the most conspicuous bird in the valley. When one of these 

 birds taps upon a dead limb it is no gentle imitation of a tap. It is the real 

 thing ! And when he calls he calls. Everybody in the neighborhood knows it, 

 but he doesn't care. "No shooting allowed" — and he knows it. There is a tall 

 pine tree with a dead top, just on the edge of Yosemite Village, which seemed 

 to be a favorite point of vantage for a pair of these woodpeckers. They "were 

 often to be seen flying into or out of this tree or noticed chasing each other 

 about its top, undisturbed by the people and automobiles below them, although 

 one usually associates this bird with deep woods uncontammated by the pres- 

 ence of mankind. The description of this species given in the "Handbook of 

 Birds of the Western LTnited States" by Florence Merriam Bailey, is a good 

 one, and very much to the point. There were several pairs in the valley, each 

 of which seemed to have a favorite spot in the woods, and in or near which it 

 might almost always be found and even quietly approached to within a fairly 

 close distance, close enough to notice many of the birds' habits, some of which 

 seemed almost to take the form of antics — such as chasing each other about for 

 no apparent reason, in a manner that looked very much like play. Yet this 

 may, perhaps, have been the case of a young one pursuing its parent in the en- 

 deavor to induce it to produce some food. It was not always possible to distin- 

 guish between a full-grown youngster and an adult female, especially as this 

 was in the moulting season. 



A good example of this sort of thing was the case of a young Water Ouzel 

 {Cinclus mexicanus unicolor) which was seen one afternoon chasing its parent 

 up the apparently perpendicular cliff of the upper Yosemite Falls — just 

 where the fall would have been had the water supply kept up. In this case the 

 youngster, which seemed as large as the parent, was very persistent in its ef- 

 forts, continually pursuing the older bird either by climbing or running along 

 ledges, though occasionally taking to flight, and always begging for food. The 

 parent kept dodging behind rocks and into crevices, frequently turning and 

 expostulating with the youngster whenever overtaken. This proceeding was 

 kept up for a long time, until at last both birds got so far up the cliff as to be 



