Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
Contributed by Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley.
| www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Transcription
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dish at my knee where I sat on the ground. One of them jumped upon
my knee and attacked the worm box, which I held covered by my hand,
and I allowed him to dig out a few worms between my fingers. Another
took a good bath less than three feet away and, while it was bathing,
the third one picked globules of water off of the bather's feathers.
After this a good romp was in order, then the bather dried himself in
the nearest "Old Man" sage, the two others stretched out on the ground
side by side and three feet for so from me, dozing in the warm sunshine.
A spotted towhee, seeking food for its young, and who makes this dish
a regular calling place, tried to work up enough courage to take food
from it within arm's reach of me, but could not quite do it. This went
on until one of the young thrashers drove him away.
At about 9:30 the young thrashers were at various places in the orchard
from 200 down to 100 feet from the glade. They were interested in me,
occasionally approaching me, but not caring for me to get too close
to them. I went to the glade and they appeared one at a time and
played about, occasionally eating. No.1, who properly should be called
either Cheeky or Sloppy--it's about a stand off--seized the occasion
to prospect around in my lap, finally adopting it as a preening station
and giving himself a thorough going over. Greenie appeared shortly
and chased all of the young birds away in the most persistent effort
I have seen him make to date. They did not attempt to stand up to him
but ran with what legs they had, dodging and flying, and all disappeared;
In about ten minutes every one of them, except Greenie, was back again
to eat, examine my shoes, dig and bathe. Brownie then came and started
for one of them who slipped underneath a California Bee Plant and, at
that moment I distracted Brownie's attention with a worm, so she came
to me instead and forgot all about the youngster, had a good meal of
soft food and worms, then disappeared. Not until then did the young
birds come out again from the bushes where they must have been watch-