Bird Notes, Part 2, v659
Page 451
Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Contributed by Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley. | www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Transcription
(489) 5:54. (Temp. 74). Through the afternoon the same procedure was followed. October 19th. No early morning singing was heard, but several loud calls. A.M. About 7:45 Greenie was in the nest, Brownie off to the south-east sitting in a cypress tree 120 yards away. On being called, he ran and flew to the glade making no comment of any kind while eating, and departing silently for the nest, without being called. Greenie them came for her share. The bird off duty seems to be ranging farther for food now. 7:10 P.M. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred since last entry. I was getting the impression that Brownie was taking shorter shifts at the nest than his mate and showed signs of impatience sooner while on the nest, but Greenie evened up matters this afternoon by taking an hour or more off (I did not time it), during which she remained in the vicinity of the glade, eating, digging and just puttering around with some sub-singing. Strangely, Brownie did not call for her at all, and she went back to the nest, seemingly at a loss for something to do. About 5:30 Brownie was in the nest and I watched to see if there would be a change when Greenie returned. However, there was not. Greenie was not at all secretive about her roosting place (Room B). I stood almost directly below it as she approached (dressed entirely in white). She walked by my feet, climbed the tree within arm's reach and settled immediately for the night with no sign of fear or furtiveness. This tree has twin trunks. It is really a large shrub in size, about 15 feet high with a mean spread of perhaps the same. Its canopy is dense. Room A (now the nest) is in the north half, Room B (now Greenie's night roost) in the south half. The two are about 6 or 8 feet apart and at about the same height from the ground After G was settled other birds came in and were not driven away.