1394. without display of any kind or looking for R5; finally he ate it. R5 now came out and joined us in the outer cage. Rhody immediately beat a hasty retreat through the open door! I left him sitting under the tree that overhangs the entry--thinking things over--at 10:45. Brownie could be heard singing over at the Robinsons'. (Nova, as these notes show, has always had a "bad" effect on Brown- ie, inducing him to absent himself frequently in order, presumably, to find her and bring her home to attend to business. Maybe this is her first victory). At 11:05 Rhody was still thinking things over in the same place. At 11:10 he glided out noiselessly, went to have a look at nest 4:36 from the ground, than came back to the cage to watch R5 who cocked up head and tail pertly and hrooed at R. R now went back to work on the nest and stayed with it until about 11:20. Now followed mild flirting with R5, back to work, resting and so forth. 2:30 P.M. Rhody has worked most of the time since last entry. I got him to come into the cage at about 1:45 and take a mouse, but he went out with it at once, although R5 was nearby. He car- ried this mouse about the grounds and up into trees, occasionally hrooing softly and offering at many different places with ritual. He finally ate it in nest 2-36 at 2 P.M. At 2:30 he was back again at the cage door looking wistfully inside, now and then touching the wires with his bill. R5 did not respond. Now followed a long period of resting at various points not far from the cage; one of them the prospective nest location discovered by him the other day in the oak at the glade. At 3:30 he appeared with a long branch which he took to the (la glass house and wrestled inside for several minutes, then sailed down to the cage entry again for more staring at the inmates-- especially the magpies. He now simply killed time, waiting until it should be fitting for him to start his march for the west lot. This was deferred until 4:40, probably on account of the screeching of boys and girls and the yelping of their dogs in the house under construction across the street not far to one side of his regular route. The last half hour of this period he spent high in an oak at the entrance, having retreated there when the dog members of the party appeared ready to encroach upon his preserves. Brownie was not seen here during the afternoon, though heard frequently off to the east. It looks as if he really had decided to build elsewhere and that his nest has already reached the lin- ing stage. February 28th. Sunny and warm all day. Other affairs prevented keeping closely in touch with the birds, although I saw quite a lot of Brownie and Rhody under the circumstances. At 8:15 Julio gave R a mouse at the entrance. This was fol- lowed by R taking it to the cage and offering it to R5 with rit- ual, after which R went away someplace. At 8:30, when I went out, Brownie was singing from the top of the old oak and came down promptly for worms. Nova was some- where near. I had to leave shortly, returning about 11:30. Rhody and Brownie were both here still. Rhody hung about the cage and wanted to get in and also work-