Rhody 1570 At 9:20 A.M. I did not see him on arriving at the sage patch until he suddenly appeared out of the bushes and began to sun his back close to me. At 8:20 he had been indifferent to my presence, but now he was keenly interested, raising and lowering his crest, turning his head to look up into my face frequently, watching the movements of my hands, examining the ground to see if he had over- looked any donations. (There had been none. I knew what he wanted, but waited to see what he would do about it). He now took a few steps toward me and pretended to pick something up from the hard, perfectly bare ground. Next he squeezed by me and headed for the tool-house, stopping to let me pass as I took the hint. I reward- ed him at the mousery with the biggest mouse I could find. He now proceeded to rest. About 10:20, when I came out of the house again, birds were un- usually plentiful and active. They were to be seen near at hand in all directions, wherever I looked. A new thrasher, brown and spotted towhees, golden- and white-crowned sparrows, song sparrows, in- umerable bushtits, wrentits, California jays, flickers, juncos, quail, red-breasted nuthatches calling, an Anna's hummingbird doing its power-dive with whistle over its mate, plain titmice--per- haps more kinds. All were active and apparently happily engaged, without fear of hawks. Perhaps the absence of hawks was the oc- casion for their freedom of action. Rhody, to my surprise, had abandoned what should normally have been his long period of rest after eating heartily and was, of all places, on the roof of his new house poking around with his bill. soon he went inside and examined everything closely. Then he sail- ed down past my shoulder into the orchard; then dashed up the bank and to the court into a flock of quail; these birds immediately began walking up the branches of the spreading oak there, to the roof of the shop. Rhody now went up on the roof of the lean-to over the shop door and peered up into the trees. From there he went along the roof to an upstairs sleeping porch. From there he again inspect- ed his surroundings. A carved bracket below the eaves now attract- ed his attention and he flew up to that, examining its flat top as if looking for a nesting site. From there he sailed down into the court, then inspected the cloister and next the lily pool. From there he ran and flew down to the orchard, thence through the fence to resume his interrupted rest on his favored eucalyptus limb,** What had gotten into him? He has not been so active as this for a long time. Was it his spring awakening, with the astronomical winter just arriving? Was it the same stimulus that activated the other birds, whatever that was? I do not think the immediate and specific cause was any of these--directly. I think he was merely excited by the presence of so many other birds, in so many places. **Add after the word limb: first, however, indulging in a prolonged circus through the bushes on the bank, dashing about with spread wings and tail with excited rattle-boos, immediately there- after becoming as placid as an old cow. In sharp contrast with the activities just described, were conditions at 11:20. Not one bird, excepting Rhody who was still on his branch in plain sight, could be seen in the open. None could be heard. Even in the bushes I saw only two or three birds: golden- crowned sparrows semi-frozen. About 11:30 a hawk sailed along the driveway behind me only three or four feet above the ground. This gives the other side of the picture. Neo was not seen again during the day. I spent a half hour trying to gain the confidence of the new thrasher, without success, although he visited the feeding station 15 feet from me, well aware of my presence.