July, 1902. 
THE CONDOR 
91 
Bird Studies in Strawberry Valley, Aug. 25 — Oct. 25, 1902. 
MRS. C. A. MOODY, LOS .\XGELES, CAL. 
A t the end of a long and dusty 
stage ride up the mountain road, 
and several hours after the sun 
had dropped behind the peaks, we 
reached this valley — now more widely 
known as Idyllwild, Among-the-Pines. 
Naturally, in the morning, our first 
thought was a mixture of curiosity and 
a great desire to find out what kind of 
a place we had come upon in the ver}^ 
heart of the mountains. 
In a natural park of white oaks and 
yellow pine trees stands the Idyllwild 
Sanatorium, having for a picturesque 
back-ground, the towering granite 
peaks of the San Jacinto Mts. The 
lower parts of these mountains are 
thickly wooded with yellow and sugar 
pines — each attaining a giant-like size 
with the growth of many years, while 
cedars and firs abound tho’ by reason of 
their nature they do not aspire to such 
dizzy heights. Glimpses of white tents 
here and there among the trees, give 
one the impression that out of-door life 
is much preferred. 
Very pretty, modern cottages have 
been erected near the sanatorium, in 
which are comfortably furnished rooms. 
Beyond the park, on another ridge, one 
may find cottages for housekeeping. 
Our choice was a large tent furnished 
for housekeeping, and somewhat isolat- 
ed from the others. It was set just at 
the edge of a rocky slope, well shaded' 
by white oak trees with a yellow pine 
or two to keep them company. Down 
the hill, and across a pasture path, — 
where sweet ferns, youthful pines and 
many grasses grew, we found a cool 
mountain stream, making haste to reach 
the valley below. Now, I thought, this 
should be an ideal place for birds; so 
without much delay my hammock was 
swung where I could easily look down 
the hill, and beyond the waving ferns 
into the shadows cast by the trees along 
the brook. 
The red-capped woodpecker was the 
first bird to attract my attention. He 
was, by far, the noisiest bird here and 
can safely be termed, “monarch of all 
he surveys,” in this immediate neigh- 
borhood at this time of year. At times, 
by way of courtesy, he will allow the 
bluejays a small section of the ground. 
The smaller birds, however, don’t count 
for much in Mr. Redtop’s opinion, for 
he chases them awa}' quite remorselessly, 
and goes on with his hammering. One 
small bo}' said, “I should think he 
would knock out all of his brains” so 
hard would he pound away sometimes. 
This California woodpecker is a 
noticeably showy bird, with his glossy 
green-black coat, crimson head dress, 
and a dash of yellow at his throat. 
Some think he is. a blue-black, but in 
some lights I found the green luster 
very clearly brought out. Male and 
female are much alike in markings, 
unless possibly the female wears a 
smaller red cap. His ways of covering 
a tree when in quest of food is truly 
ludicrous. Creeping, sliding, gliding 
up or down the tree seems equally 
agreeable to him. He rarely comes to 
the ground, but puts in most of his 
time drilling through the thick bark of 
the yellow pine. Sometimes he strikes 
a choice spot, and there he will cling, 
serenely sipping something as if it were 
the “nectar of the gods.” The thought 
came to me that perhaps he had taken 
to chewing the pine gum! 
The jay seen about here is the blue- 
fronted jay, known to inhabit the coni- 
ferous region's. Male and female have 
a crest and markings are similar. The 
light-blue lines which extend up the 
forehead between the eyes give a very 
quizzical expression to the bird. At 
first the jays kept rather quiet and were 
not much in evidence. One came to 
inspect, then a few more. After a little 
while I had more jays than I had bar- 
gained for, feasting at the back of the 
tent. Bread exposed to the dry moun- 
