Early Summer Birds in Yo Semite Valley. 121 



May 26th, as the result of a hasty scanning of a boulder's 

 mossy face, a bit of something out of order was per- 

 ceived. And this tuft of yellowed grass ends, standing 

 out in contrast against the green and oHve, proved to be 

 a part of the rim of a nest deeply ensconced in a fissure 

 of the rock, which fissure was everywhere else smoothed 

 over with the moss matting. The nest held five delicately 

 dotted eggs. 



On a later visit we surprised the bird on the nest, but 

 she slipped off slyly and disappeared, as she must have 

 at the time we first discovered the nest. We remained 

 around until the bird's anxiety overcame her shyness, 

 and we finally obtained excellent views at close range of 

 both birds. Also their excited notes of alarm, brought 

 other species, out of curiosity or sympathy, and we were 

 afforded the sight of both ruby-crowned and golden- 

 crowned kinglets in the same tree overhead — so similar 

 in colors and manners, but so totally different in voice. 



This reference prompts me to dwell upon the wonder- 

 ful loudness of the song, or a portion of the song, of the 

 ruby-crown, for the size of the bird. One often hears 

 this clear, unmistakable whistle shrill out across a canon 

 from some distant silver fir with distinctness that is 

 startling, and which fully warrants the novice in looking 

 for a much larger bird. 



The brilliantly plumed bird of the valley is the West- 

 ern tanager, not at all wary and present in numbers. 

 The yellow body and red head form a color combination 

 which prevents confusion with an oriole or a goldfinch, 

 neither of which low-zone birds, by the way, were found 

 by us in the valley. A tanager's nest, in process of con- 

 struction on May 26th, was certainly beyond reach of any 

 climbing depredator. Its site was the end of an out- 

 swaying branch of a Douglas spruce, fully sixty feet 

 above the road ; and to this the female was carrying build- 

 ing materials with total indifference to the presence of 

 the spectators below. 



