Mar., 1922 FOX SPARROWS IN CALIFORNIA 51 
this we found without difficulty. This cabin was about two miles northwest 
of what is down on the current maps as Thorn, near the southern boundary of 
Humboldt County, but which is only a ranch where the Thorn post-office was 
maintained for a while. The latter has been moved recently to another ranch 
nearer Shelter Cove. : 
A large area in the vicinity of our camp was covered with a thick growth 
of the white thorn, which we found to be a sort of ‘‘buck brush’’ (Ceanothus 
incanus), interspersed in places with ‘‘wild coffee’? (Rhamnus californicus), 
and ‘‘wild lilae’’ (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus). Thorn is only three or four miles 
from the south boundary of Humboldt County and at this camp we were only 
six or seven miles from the ocean, but separated from it by quite a high ridge 
which must cut off a good deal of the usual ocean breeze and accompanying 
fog, to judge from the appearance of the vegetation. It certainly affected the 
climate, for we had nipping frost in the morning and high temperature in the 
afternoon, which is unusual so near to the ocean at this time of year. We made 
this camp on the afternoon of October 4, in time to get settled and to look 
around a little before the early dusk of the autumn day. 
Before sunrise the next morning we were out looking for fox sparrows and 
we assuredly found them. There were not so many in the flat surrounding 
the cabin, although they were fairly numerous even there; but in a narrow 
canyon near-by there were more individuals than I had ever seen in one place 
anywhere. In fact, I saw more in the two mornings here than in all my life 
before and yet I have been making a ‘‘hobby’’ of chasing around after this 
particular genus for a good many years past. 
On the morning of October 5, Lamb was directed to work down the Mat- 
tole River to look especially for certain birds in that direction, while I went 
into the thorn brush to observe the fox sparrows. It turned out. however. 
that Lamb came across so many small birds in the brush on his way to the 
river that he did not get any farther, but remained also to note fox sparrows. 
For my part I found the thorn brush, especially where the berry or seed 
bearing bushes were more numerous, swarming with birds of several species, 
which need not be mentioned here, but among which fox sparrows were largely 
represented. These latter would come to a squeaking sound (made by my- 
self) from all directions and were remarkably tame. Ordinarily the individu- 
als of this genus are extremely wary, usually alert to dive into the shelter of a 
bush at the slightest sound or movement on the part of an observer, but here 
they would come right out on dead branches to within four or five feet of 
one and look him right in the eye! Even such motion as changing one’s posi- 
tion or quietly raising a hand did not seem to startle them. 
There were a great many dead limbs among the living brush. as the coun- 
try appeared to have been burnt over frequently, in all probability to make 
browse for the goats which are kept there. Tn spots where the fox sparrows 
were most numerous it was not unusual to see from half a dozen to twenty- 
five or thirty of them among the dead branches of a good sized bush after 
their curiosity had been excited by a succession of ‘‘squeaks’’ on my part. 
Although Lamb came across a good many of these birds in the direction 
in which he went he did not find them so numerous in any one spot as had 
been my experience in the canyon spoken of above. While there was consid- 
erable frost in the early morning at this place the afternoons were actually 
