Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
Contributed by Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley.
| www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Transcription
as near as I could tell. Despite the repetition I could not catch it,
but it was reminiscent of the ka-dah-cut previously recorded, but with
a reedy quality and some n sounds in it someplace. Yesterday, when
they talked on their return, they had been away a long time. Today they
were just leaving. The logic of the situation, considering their greater
excitement and loquacity of yesterday, would suggest that, yesterday,
they were trying to tell me all about their experience and, today, that
they were just going to the same place when I called! (See 10 o'clock entry).
The Robinson place consists of several acres on both sides of
a ridge with a great deal of the natural growth remaining. The eastern
slope runs down into Dimond Canyon and is an ideal place for birds, par-
ticularly ground feeders, being partly wooded with open places to
scratch in and undoubtedly plenty of insect life, such as Jerusalem
crickets. Dr. Reynolds says that these insects are plentiful at his
place. His northerly line is the southerly line of the Robinson place.
At 10 o'clock both thrashers were at the oval lawn, so I went
over to Dr. Reynolds' --no thrashers. West of the Reynolds property
with separated from it by a brick wall, is the house of Dr. Covell, so
that from my place the Reynolds house is directly behind Covell's.
The gardener of the latter place, seeing me looking for birds, said
that for the first time, he saw this morning two large birds with "crooked"
bills digging in his moss patch. (Arenaria caespitosa). On comparing
times, it was evident that these were probably Brownie and Greenie. I
told the gardener that they would roughen up his moss, but that they would
get his cut-worms and he seemed satisfied with the arrangement.
I neglected to note yesterday Brownie's introduction of the song of
the meadowlark--not the flying song previously recorded--but one of
those usually heard, there being several.
11:50. Talked with Dr. Grinnell over the phone a half hour or
so ago. He will be here with friends this afternoon. He asked if the
birds were singing more or less than before. I assumed that he meant