Bird Notes, Part 3, v660
Page 169
Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Contributed by Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley. | www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Transcription
B's song coarser than usual. Advertising? necessarily a large portion of it which did not lend itself to transcription. This was full song delivered from the top of the old oak and was somewhat coarser than his better efforts, having more consonants. I got the impression that it was "advertising". Purr-purr-ratchee, purr-purr-ratchee, purr-purr-ratchee, Pee-pit-yorkit, pee-pit-yorkit; clee-lee-tsipit-yorkit Prilly, prilly, prilly; kirk, kirk, kirk-yorkit, Pirrie, pirrie, pirrie, kerp, kerp, kerp-yorkit, Purr-purr-ratchee, we-oo-hickey, pit-yaycup-yorkit, We-oo-hickey, purr-purr-ratchey; tsee, tsee, tsee. One young back at nest.' B reverts to nest custom. At about 4:40 P.M. I looked up the young birds again. One of them was sitting on the edge of the nest! B came up and stepped into (Brownie( the nest. I offered him food with the squirt gun, which he took, although he refuses it away from the nest. The young bird defecated and Brownie immediately recovered it according to nest-custom, although he gives no heed to the act away from the nest. Here apparently was a reversion to nest behavior on the part of B stimulated by what was probably (?) an accidental return of the young bird to the nest. Shortly afterwards Dr. Reynolds arrived and I took him up to the nest to witness the return. The fledgling was still there, but sitting on a twig about 2 inches from the nest, back toward it. At 6:40 P.M. B was conducting his brood to their roosting places for the night. One was led the oak in which nest 3 was located and the other to a small pine next to the Dormitory tree. It was dark under and inside of the trees, so that I could not see the worms in the worm box, but B could. The young birds did not hesitate to accept food from the squirt gun under these conditions.