(161) distance to be covered to reach me is often only 6 inches and seldom over two feet, the branch sags so much that she has really; gained almost nothing in height and, furthermore, has an insecure take-off to boot. I have seen her spend several minutes in ineffective efforts to reach me thus from distances of the order stated, only to abandon the effort and jump up from the ground in the end. During these trials she will try the bushes at different heights and many different positions and appears to realize that the effort will be less in the jump or flight, the higher she gets. However, when she does get higher there is always something in the way, or she does not like the place where she will have to land or something. These efforts are comical because evident of her apparent earnest concentrationxxxxxxxxxabsurdly x and ineffectual efforts to reach an absurdly easy goal. clumsy I derive a mean sort of satisfaction, as a human being, in observing the slips, stumbles and falls of these birds. They are by no means infallibly accurate in their muscular control. Brown-eyes for example, cannot stand on one foot without swaying perceptibly Both birds often slip and I have seen them stumble over an object when running and fall flat . When in twiggy growth in a tree or bush, when it seems even to me that there is plenty of room , the struggle, get caught by twigs and have all the minor accidents that we have; yet they, judging by the small size of their wings and their habits are especially designed for work on the ground and in the bushes. Their flights are, of course, short. They seldom fly at an upward angle except for a matter of a few feet. Even this they will not do unless there is no way out of it . They always climb up into trees, instead of it is probable that flying. If one sees a thrasher on a high point, he has either climbed there or has flown there from some higher point to which he had climbed previously. They are very gentle birds.