512 
BIRDS OF NEW MEXICO 
most conversational notes are best heard at the nest, where you may 
perhaps listen to a variety of small talk, such as the infantile, lisping 
notes of the hungry, brooding bird coaxing her mate to feed her; 
the tender note of her mate calling her to come to the door for the 
food he has brought; pretty conjugal notes of greeting and farewell; 
Yearlong records in Upper Sonoran Zone 
the chattering scold and cries of anger, anxiety, and terror, heard 
when enemies threaten; sharp notes of warning to the young, and 
wails of grief when harm has come to the nestlings. Such notes, given 
emphasis by vivacious, eloquent movements and gestures, interpret 
the thoughts and feelings of these intense little feathered folk, almost 
as clearly as elaborate conversations do the emotions of less demon¬ 
strative human beings. 
