thrasher I have ever heard. At 1:10 P.M., as I stood looking at the magpies' nesting operation, I was startled by an indistinct mass in motion at my very feet. It resolved itself into Rhody, calm and collected and offering no explanation of his long absence. I fancied that he looked hollow in front where he ought to bulge, so got a piece of meat which he unhesitatingly took from my fingers with (perhaps invol- intary) looks as he reached for it. I have been looking for an opportunity to trail him again when he leaves the place in order to see if he has a nest somewhere; consequently I concentrated on him exclusively, following all of his wanderings for three and one half hours, when, as I shifted position in order to get a clearer view of his anticipated next move, I lost sight of the spot where he was sitting quietly only about 30 feet away, for perhaps 10 seconds, and when I looked again, he had vanished utterly without a sound. Two of us then searched for another hour, looking, I think, in every place where he has ever been seen within the property lines and at the Scamells', but there was no trace of him. In addition his usual avenues of approach and retreat, to and from this place were scrutinized from points of vantage to no avail. During the 3½ hour period he went outside the fence only once, (for about 10 minutes at the Scamells') being disturbed by the close proximity of a visitor here, and returning when frightened by a car on the street. He was not obviously disturbed by my persistent trailing. He had several helpings of meat--he was hungry, caught a bee or two and a painted lady butterfly and other things undetermined. This period was mostly a loafing one, manifestly a time of relaxation. While he did mount to the roof twice and look off over the country, he did not appear to search for anything did not call and only booed two or three times apropos of nothing evident. Altogether, I should say, he was not in motion more than