self put of a thicket up nun the air witht awhward legs ae 
ling, angular wings swaying, long tail flapping, as he went 
through the antics of a jazz musician when frenzy strikes 
him. At the same time a flood of song was pouring forth, 
and it seemed that he was insane, but no, his agate cas 
was all for the fascination of a hidden mate. 
He becomes still another creature at the time his nest 
is emptying. No songs are then in fashion. If a mere 
human happens to find the shrub where his jewels are 
secreted, he seems to lose his love of life, his feeling of fear, 
~ for he will boldly “aar-up” at anyone to drive his fancied 
foe away. He will even hop to a branch in plain sight and 
scratch his nose with one foot as he balances on the other, 
while his mate softly whistles, “tut-tut-tut-tut,” as she 
coaxed the babies from twig to twig in another direction 
into safety. 
The vegetables are often prepared in the on arbor, 
where the Oregon Juncos, which spend the year in Golden, 
were fed last winter. A baby Mountain Quail ran across 
the yard, hunting for its mother, and a mother Rufous 
Hummer brought her two youngsters there while the peas 
- were popped this morning. The hummers bazzed in and out 
getting insects from the roses and Esma noticed that the 
little quail’s ears were keener than hers, for he suddenly 
ran toward the brush and then his mother was heard scold- 
ing, probably telling him he must not take such 
venturesome journeys again. Esma was in a reflective 
mood and she told tales of the days when she and Edward 
were beginning to make the denominated of ther bird 
tenants. 
To see a male rufous hinge bud poise and. take a 
drink from the dew on the tip of a fir needle was an event, 
such as she had never had time to glimpse, when she was 
managing the work of four hundred people in a big city. 
Here she had seen a western house wren stand on the rim 
of a barrel of water to make his toilet, dipping in first his 
185 
