1167 Goes to 2-36 next. R is moulting. B and family also Brownie and the whole thrasher tribe have also been out of sight and sound most of the morning. A curious coincidence. He did not look me up once and was not heard until about 11:50. Later they were all located near the S.W. corner of the premises--an unusual place for them. The reason for this seems to be that, now that the contest of wills is on between B and Nova to determine whether she shall oc- cupy the new nest or not, Brownie has to go in search of her when she does not respond to call. The youngsters naturally follow him and Nova has been going off to the west. R's attitude toward dead mice. Going to the cage about 4 P.M. after an absence of several hours, I found Rhody there loafing comfortably. A mouse, which he himself had killed about 24 hours earlier, was there still uneaten. Yet, when I offered him a live one, he took it, did most of the usual things, but instead of taking it to one of the nests, ate it in about 10 minutes--a variation from recent procedure. It has been observed several times, both with Rhody and his two children, that dead creatures, that is to say, those found dead are not usually acceptable. April 21st. Light rain falling in the morning. Rhody was found in his shelter under the old oak, although there was little rain falling and there had not been enough to dampen the ground under the trees. Brownie and youngsters were perfectly dry, all three ready for worms. Nova out of sight, but heard. Rhody, after having worms and viewing the magpies, decided to work on nest 1-36 for a change--the first time he has been seen to do this since 2-36 was started. (Notes may show otherwise). Later, when given a mouse, he took it also for the first time in weeks, to display at the Scamell dining-room windows, thence to the roof in two stages, there to sit or lie down with it, as the spirit moved him, for about an hour, possibly more, as I did not wait to see the end. Not once was he heard to call, but two or three times, he stood up and wig-wagged. I had hoped to see a revival of his courting behavior, including calling, in view of this departure from his recent behavior, but it was not to be. Rests in 1-36. At 1 o'clock he was lying down in nest 1-36. At present such nest building as he does seems to be distributed amongst 4, 2 and 1. (1:30 P.M.) though it can not be said that he is very active at any of them. This odd behavior offers plenty of ground for speculation as to underlying reasons, but perhaps the evidence is not yet all in. Rhody and humming- bird. While I was in the cage with Rhody yesterday (I forgot to record it) an Allen hummingbird buzzed about outside the wire seeking a way in order to pay its respects to the roadrunner. Final- siderable distance to verify the supposition. When he came down from No.4. he first visited the magpies, then accepted worms from me, crying between worms, then gathered more twigs and took them to No.2. There is no doubt of his being in a spring moult; besides seeing them float off whenever he preens, his feathers are now found "everywhere" about the place. R goes to work on first nest again. Mouse-routine changed.