from side to side. The curve of the bill is most effective when it is used for prying out stones. When thus used, the bird inserts the bill under the side of the stone farthest away from him and pulls it toward himself, the stone often rolling on top of his feet. In this way the thrasher can pry out and roll over stones as large as the fist, or even larger, and I have often seen him jump into the air when determined to deliver a powerful blow, as if to utilize the weight of the descending body to reinforce the blow. Digging involving prying is a small part of the bird's ex- cavation work. Doubtless it is an important part, otherwise there would seem to be no good reason why the bill should curve more abruptly near the tip than elsewhere, giving him a sort of elephant- seal appearance. The sharp curve at that point might easily be a positive disadvantage in ordinary digging unless its center of curva- ture happened to coincide fairly closely with the center about which the bill is swung in digging. Anybody who has swung a pick that has too short a curve knows what an unsatisfactory implement it can be. I doubt if the bill is an unusually effective fighting weapon, in spite of its formidable appearance. It is not sharp. March 13th. Green-eyes in the nest at 8:05 A.M. B.E. came out of the glade promptly to eat soft food, leaning her breast against my hand. Both birds appeared quite dry, although it rained during the night. Brown-eyes has a disgracefully dirty bill, all caked with mud up to the nostrils and makes no effort to remove it. She shows absolutely no sign of the fear noted yesterday. 9 A.M. G.E. still on the nest; B.E. came bounding out of the glade to eat soft food. However, this morning, she seems to want her food alive and kicking, so she began actively digging four feet from me where it is very rocky, turning over stones half the size of my hand