1517 despite the fact that I was on the scene twenty minutes earlier than yesterday. It was bright and warm, unlike yesterday. (Sun- set 6:30). The sun is coming south rapidly. The persistent sheath on Chiisai's rectrix is now splitting down the sides releasing the barbs. This feather, instead of ly- ing flat against its mates, is rotated about its principal axis through an angle of about 45°. He has not been seen to work on the sheath. On the 6th and 7th. Chiisai could hardly resist picking up any suitable nesting material he encountered and carrying it up to high points (including my hand) and there dropping it aimlessly. Today he was less active in this respect. He has usually been the more active nester of the two (and still is). The musical performances of both birds today were confined to digging songs. (5 P.M.). Sept. 9th. Okii and Chiisai scrap at the quail. About 9 A.M. the young thrashers were scripping, but as usual, appeared quite calm and apparently looking at nothing as I approach d the cage cautiously. I found the the quail were dusting near the cage in full view of the thrashers. (One of them had a hole so deep that his back was about on a level with the surrounding earth). The quail were undoubtedly the cause of the comment. Both youngsters fell to digging, with appropriate song, before the quail had entirely dispersed. When I entered the cage both were up on me in a second looking for the worm box (which was in my pocket) lifting my necktie aside and probing all possibilities. Chiisai discovered a freshly skinned place on one of my hands and, before I could stop him, had the blood flowing again, swal- lowing the scar tissue. An hour or so later, when I went into the entry, both birds left off "dig-singing" and each flew up into an upper corner of the entry and clung to the wire there, as if waiting for me to hold a hand up there for them to sit on. When I accommodated them they accepted at once. As this has happened scores of times, both where the initiative has been mine (by holding my hands up to the wire while the birds were some distance away) and where it has been theirs, as in the present instance, it does not seem improb- able that we have here an instance of learning and not of mere coincidence. Chiisai selected my left hand and Okii the right. Both began to talk volubly, as when discovering nesting material. Both had been previously given all the meal-worms they wanted and were not hungry. The corner that Okii occupied is the favorite one for some reason or other. Chiisai now moved over to join Okii. Both tsipped at each other with wide open bills and Chiisai left to dig and sing. Okii nowwent through an elaborate preening operation, removing several soft feathers with his bill. This finished, he lay down on my hand and began to sing softly, opening and closing his eyes: a slumber song. Soon Chiisai's efforts seemed to stimulate him to greater elaboration of his song and increased volume. (He occasion- ally paused and looked down at C). We seemed well on the way to a notable performance when a yellow-jacket began to buzz around us. This was altogether too tempting for O and he snatched it out of the air--an action that I have always guarded against--as I knew that if it ever occurred, the next act would be to look for a good place on which to hammer it, and I do not care to be made a chop- ping block for yellow-jackets.