August 29th. A little early morning thrasher song, but conventions, if there were any during the day, were held elsewhere. The young road-runners again reacted to distant children's voices, but it seemed less noticeably. In fact at one time when both of them had settled themselves comfortably on me for what look- ed like (and was) a long rest, childrens' voices began to be heard again. The birds merely craned their necks and looked in all di- rections without leaving their places. At 3:30 Rhody was noted at the oval lawn. I called to him from this room, but he merely looked at me. However in a few moments he was looking in the window. I invited him in and he promptly accepted. After an initial skid on the tile floor which caused him to hesitate, he walked about inspecting things composedly; here, in the hall-way and down the basement stairs. He tried a few taps at various windows, then came to me for meat, after which he went out of an open window for a long spread-eagle sunning on a balcony. It was noted that his two middle tail feathers are gone and two new ones are sprouting. Both Archie and Terry have moulted the same two feathers in the last two or three days. (Or rather A has moulted only one as the other is a new one replacing one lost by accident when he was very young. It remains to be seen whether this one will be moulted this season). Both A and T have been getting new tail covert for some time and likewise have been picking out loose feathers now and then from their breasts and sides, but not very frequently. Terry is now reduced to only four principal tail-feathers (rectrices) and one of these was so damaged in the panic of the other day that it will soon be hanging down and have to be cut off. Archie has 9 rectrices left, all of full length. He brushed the wire of the magpies' cage with his tail and one of those birds promptly seized the tip of a feather. A pulled hard, grunting, so R, A and T have moulted the same tail feathers.