(137) wall ran to the foot of a six foot concrete retaining surmounted by a three foot hedge behind which I was standing on the road, still "scripping" excitedly, decided that it could not scale the wall, than ran twenty feet along its foot until it came to a pathway leading through the hedge up to the road and doubled back to me, jumping up into my hand with one last, loud "scrap" as it landed. It was, of course, Brown-eyes. She gobbled a few worms then started on foot down the road toward the nest exactly 80 yards away by the route taken. These birds are always doing something unexpected, and for the first time. This morning besides the frequent trips to the nest accountable for by the young, there was the removal of worms from my hand and breaking them up on the ground and the loud "scrap" while sitting on my hand. Yesterday there was recognition of me at a distance by the sound of my voice alone and numerous other performances covered by these notes. The thrashers are now ranging far for food. I shall try keeping the ground in the glade moist to encourage the worms and insects. 2:15 At about 12 I placed a ladder and went up to the nest. Green-eyes was on the job, not evidently annoyed at my presence. Soon I heard Brown-eyes making the "blue-bird" signal and she stepped on to the nest and then on top of Green-eyes making little cluck- ing sounds. She had something dark colored and formless in the end of her bill and did not appear to notice me, moving forward so that the end of her bill was about 14 inches from the end of my nose. I tested this by spanning the distance and it was about 5 inches beyond the end of my little finger. That means 14 inches. This method of measurement resembles exactly a certain well known gesture of defiance, but the occupants of the nest took no umbrage, although Green-eyes soon crawled out from under,