Early Summer Birds in Yosemite Valley. 119 



among the tethered ponies. At times during the day one 

 hears bursts of robin melody. But at early morning and 

 late evening the robin chorus pervades far and wide what 

 would otherwise be a nearly perfect stillness. The trite 

 word "carol" to my mind and ear describes the robin's 

 song satisfactorily; and several robins caroling at once 

 furnish a type of bird music unapproached in pleasing 

 quality by any other species that I have ever heard. 



Robins have a difficult time to get settled for the night. 

 While j uncos and warblers become quiet before sundown 

 and vanish from sight and hearing by early dusk, the 

 robins have by then set up a din of wild cries intermingled 

 with snatches of song. This is kept up until the gloom of 

 the forest on the valley floor has settled into night, and 

 only Glacier Point, Half Dome, and similar heights show 

 a lingering reflection of the sunset sky. At daybreak the 

 robins are again noisy, but for a much briefer period. 



Another bird attracted rather than repelled by the pop- 

 ulous village of tents is the black-headed grosbeak, here 

 the boldest member of the finch tribe. Scraps from our 

 table are his for the gathering, and he flies in his quest 

 almost within arm's length of us. But all the while his 

 air is alertness incarnate, and the least offensive move- 

 ment on any one's part sends him off with a flash — ^black, 

 white, and tan. One must put into practice the well- 

 known art which has been learned by the successful ob- 

 server of wary birds — wear a constant appearance of 

 absolute indifference, move deliberately, and at the same 

 time watch intently. The black-headed grosbeak is of 

 loud rollicking voice, and sings at all times of the day. 

 He does not range above the valley floor; in fact, he is 

 one of the lower-zone birds, found also down to sea level, 

 and here associates with the many other birds peculiar to 

 the yellow-pine belt of the Sierra. We watched a female 

 grosbeak nest-building in a blossoming chokecherry 

 thicket close to Stoneman Bridge, May 24th. 



A bird to be heard oftener than seen is the Cassin 

 vireo, also a frequenter of human environs. Its song is 



