1655 Throughout this extended period of observations on the California Thrasher, reference has been made from time to their indifference to angle-worms comparatively speaking: Sometimes they eat them and sometimes not; also they occasionally give them to the nestlings, but more often refuse to take them. Once, in this same period N2 was seen carrying one of these worms and was tossed a meal-worm. She immediately dropped the angle-worm and took this and other meal-worms to the brood. Both she and Neo in coming to me for more worms passed over this angle-worm repeatedly and never, in fact, took it to the nest. Neo was given many centipedes and wormlike salamanders. The centipedes were always attacked at the head end and taken to the young. The salamanders were beaten to death, their tails eaten by Neo and their bodies given to the chicks. Except for these salamander tails, Neo, since the first day or two after the hatching of the first egg, ate none of my offerings of food except Hamburger; but even this he seldom touched until the youngsters were provided for. He gave them none of this meat. N2 also was not seen to offer anything I gave her. The Argentine ants do not appear to have been affected by the long rainy spell. They were seen constantly. More than once Neo when coming to take worms from hand has had these ants crawling on him. They may be seen crawling up his legs and once one got into his eye and caused him to run about frantically trying to get rid of it. After this was accomplished the eye seemed to pain him for several minutes. (Formic acid?) As the youngsters grow larger the parents take more meal-worm at a time and make more frequent trips. Neo may carry as many as a dozen at once and make 5 or 6 trips in succession. The youngsters are left uncovered for longer periods and also left unattended longer. Also the parents are tending more to sit on the rims of the nests and stare down at the brood. It does not seem as if they were guarding them from external dangers, but were watching them like physicians. I think that two of the motives are: (a) watching for Argentine ants and (b) watching for the young to excrete, when the faeces will then be swallowed by the parents. On the 9th. Neo made an attack upon Rhody, who was in the driveway about 30 feet from the nest, and drove him away 4 or 5 yards then desisted, R not retaliating. Other birds have observed the thrashers' good fortune in having me as a supplier of worms and two goldencrowned sparrows, one female spotted towhee and one brown towhee, hang around me when I am seated near the feeding place and come for worms, but do not take them from hand. Thrasher song increased in frequency and volume, especially toward the end of this period, in this immediate vicinity. This seems to have been more or less initiated by Inver (?) who has recently taken to singing close to the boundaries of this property and Neo has responded. Once three thrashers were seen by Julio near the nest. During this period Rhody's nesting activities may be said to have practically ceased as far as construction is concerned, but he has sat in it quietly fairly often and for periods of perhaps an hour at a time. His interest in the magpies (who are building a nest both birds carrying twigs, mud and lining) has increased. The female has, within the last two or three days, begun to make her almost incessant call, heard only during the mating season. There can be no doubt whatever that Rhody is attracted by this call and responds to it. Many times, during this 6 day period, I have been with Rhody 20 to 50 yards from the cage and he has run there swiftly on hearing the call. When there his interest has been concentrated most often