Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
Contributed by Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley.
| www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Transcription
at once. With all of his other troubles, this added disturbance
seemed to cuse him no concern. He stayed where he was and watched
developments. Brownie forgot about Snooty, as I had hoped she would,
and did not connect me with the bombardment, as I also anticipated,
so came out of the bushes when I called and showed her a worm . After
taking a couple she went about her own affairs in the bushes where I
could not see her. This appeared to be a good time to see that Snooty
get his rations, so I tossed a worm about half way to him (he was about
20 feet away). As he ran for it the all-seeing Brownie rushed out
and grabbed it and Snooty darted through the fence into the chaparral
without being chased at all. Brownie retired to a distance of
75 or 100 feet and tuned up. I went to the walk that parallels the
fence where I could see Snooty. In a few minutes he climbed up over
the fence and came to me, keeping a sharp lookout in all directions.
He was very nervous and between worms would walk up and down the path
each side of me and peer into the bushes and look up and down the
path. He was especially watchful in the direction from which Brownie's
song could be heard and as this began to approach, he stole off into
the bushes. Manifestly he is not to be allowed to remain here in peace.
As he has begun to show more interest in the immediate neighbor-
hood of the quail's feeding station just outside this window (The quail
are there now about 10 feet away. The slate color is showing through
the plumage of the youngsters in patches) I shall see if it is possible
to establish for him a preserve of his own in the upper court. I do
not think it can be done; but one encouraging factor is that the adults
do not appear to consider this good feeding territory.
Snooty now shows some broken feathers and it may be that the
older birds are responsible.
At 3:30 Brownie and Greenie were both at the oval lawn. There
was little rivalry between them when worms were tossed to them; while
each ran for them, the one that got there first was allowed to have