80 THE CONDOR Vol. XXIV 
surface, acting like a pair of bluebirds. This same afternoon I witnessed 
again this extraordinary song-flight, which varied only a little from the pre- 
vious performance. The spirals as before were very irregular in apparent 
diameter and the angle of the ascent was ineonstant. <A flight exhibition lasted 
about two minutes. In the diagram (fig. 30) the symmetry of the spirals is 
much exaggerated, the actual course of the bird being unknown in detail, but 
the zigzag lines are not far from accurate. The bird began its song-flight from 
near the crest of a ridge and ended it with a zigzag drop of 700 feet and a 
rush down the mountain to a point a quarter of a mile from its place of begin- 
ning, only to again burst into song as it alighted on the top of a pine. 
On the 20th I ran across a pair of the birds in small. rather open timber, 
where it was warm and sunny and where the ground was free from snow. The 
birds did not sing, but were busy searching for food. As before, their blue- 
bird-like method of finding insects was in evidence, and these were pounced 
upon, whether discerned on the ground or on the sides of tree trunks, or 
were secured by hovering over some promising spot where one had been dis- 
covered. Only one eall was heard, a whistled ick similar to that made by the 
Rose-breasted Grosbeak. 
Various observers who have written about this species have differed 
greatly, both as to the character of its song and its seasons of singing. Lack 
of agreement in describing bird songs is to be expected. as a rule, but the pub- 
lished accounts of the Sclitaire’s song veriods seemingly stamp the species as 
very abnormal in this respect. The foliowing references are believed to be 
representative of the many published descriptions: 
F. 8. Hanford (Condor. vol. 19, 1917. p. 14) has apparently been most 
fortunate in hearing the bird at its best and he thus describes its sone: “* . 
The feathers of his breast and throat rose with a song that softly echoed ae 
beautiful voices of the brook. the gureline eddies. the silver tinkle of tiny eas- 
eades, and the deep medley of miniature falls. Infinitely fine and sweet was 
this rendering of mountain music. At times the song of the bird rose above 
the water in rivpline cadences not shrill. but in an infinite number of 
runs and modulated trills. dvine away aeain and again to low vlaintive whis- 
pering notes sugeestive of tender memories.’’ This song was heard in early 
snrine, Fuertes (Bird-Lore. vol. 16. 1914. p. 2) says their song is a ‘‘blithe. 
Grosheak warble. frequently given in lark-like flight.”” W. lL. Dawson (Con- 
dor, vol. 21. 1919. p. 14) describes it. as sung from a perch. as ‘‘broken and 
fracmentarv. and is rendered in a matter-of-fact. passionless wav.’’ Williams 
(Ank. vol. 7. 1890. p. 98) reeords the song as ‘‘loud, varied. and Thrush-like. 
and is uttered as they mount ranidly unward in short zigzag flivhts to a heieht 
far above the pines.’’ Knowlton and Ridgwav (Birds of the World. n. 672) 
say its sone is a blend of the songs of the Purvle Finch. the Wood Thrush and 
the Winter Wren. this deserivtion. however. avparentlvy being taken from 
Coues’ Birds of the Northwest. and Coues in turn quotes it from a letter writ- 
ten to him by Trippe. 
The writer heard these birds sine nearly everv dav for two weeks. but in 
the face of such varving descriptions as given ahove. he hesitates to add still 
another to the list. Recognizing. however. that a descrintive account of a com- 
plex song will convey little transferable knowledee. T will give mv imnres- 
sions for what they are worth. The perch and flight song of the Solitaire is 
