May 31st. No early song was heard by Poni--perhaps because I was not awake early enough. Later in the forenoon he (?) was calling from Brownie's old post on the old oak. At 10 A.M. I carried O and C to the aviary. Rhody was already in the outer compartment intent upon the magpies. As I approached him, Chiisai in the cage being carried, began to "cluck" when we were about 15 feet from R, but soon stopped. I took them to the inner compartment almost brushing Rhody with my shoulder in pass- ing him, but he continued to watch the magpies. In about 15 min- utes he came to look at the thrashers without making any threats, then back to the magpies. He followed me to the tool-house and accepted a large mouse without being at all finicky about it, eating it as soon as it was properly prepared--without ritual. At 11:15 (I inside the inner cage with the thrashers) R entered the outer compartment and came to the inner door, wanting to join us. He was very mild about it. After a go with the mag- pies he went out and began to gather pine needles. These he brought to the mirror near which I was sitting and tapped on the glass-- looked at himself a long time, dropped the needles a few at a time, stared up into the upper annex of the cage at Okii, then moved off to lie in the shade. He loafed about here up to about 4 P.M. After that I did not see him. R's reaction to a ground squirrel. About 3:30 a ground squirrel poked its head up over a bank on top of which Rhody was sitting "listening to the birds",about 30 feet away. R saw him at once and rattle-bood at him, then, as the squirrel retreated down the slope into the bushes, R advanced carefully and peered over the rim where the squirrel had disappeared, making that odd wing gesture (like a shrug) which he uses with lizards. Seeing nothing of interest, he climbed a few feet up a pine tree and began to preen. The birds that now began to complain of his presence were: Both kinds of towhees, Nuttall sparrows, Lin nets, Purple finches, Green-backed goldfinches. He paid no attention to any of them. Chiisai recognizes scolding of wren- tits as danger signal. At one time when the wrentits were scolding Rhody about 50 feet from the cage, Chiisai, who could see none of the actors, promptly tried to conceal himself under the water dish in the small cage. O and C were allowed to remain in the large cage until about 5:30 P.M. and were then taken indoors. Neither had had any great difficulty in getting up into the highest part. Okii is much the better flier. Both can fly almost vertically upward for a few feet. Both were apparently tired after an eventful day and, when brought indoors, immediately began to doze with closed eyes and open mouths like tired children. Young thrashers and Argentine ants. The Argentine ants got into their cage when it was untenant- ed on the aviary floor. When they were returned to it, O and C immediately began to pick them up and eat them.