Argentine ants crawling on Neo in nest. About 10 A.M., Neo incubating, it was noticed that Argentine ants were crawling about the nest and on him. He had one of his eyes closed because of an ant crawling around and on it. He made no attempt while I watched, to dislodge it, except to shake his head. I got two tins of ant poison to hang at the nest, but found N2 there on returning, so decided to wait for Neo to re- turn before placing them, because I thought she would be frightened and leave the nest. About 10:50 I found Neo in the nest with ants all over. At times they were in both of his eyes and he struggled to free himself of them and closed both eyes, but he would not leave the nest. I put both of the tins at the nest, although I did not expect them to af- ford him any relief. I brushed ants off of his bill with a camel's- hair brush, but he did not like the operation and bit the brush. He was much disturbed, but still would not desert the nest. I then got a fly-spray, which although perhaps not fatal to ants, has been used on them and seems to make the surroundings at least distasteful to them for a considerable period. Returning with the apparatus, I found N2 on the nest. There were ants on her. She promptly decamped when I held the spray-gun near her, so I sprayed the outside of the nest and the surrounding growth. Owing to the density of the surrounding foliage and stems and their interlacing with everything in the vicinity, there is no feasible method of ap- plying barriers of tangle-foot against the ants. The spray caused the ants to disappear and N2 was back again shortly. Several visits during the rest of the day showed the oc- cupants of the nest free of ants and quietly incubating. There were three eggs in the nest, as was expected. As the first was laid on the first of May, if everything is normal and the incubating period is the same as in the case of the preceding nest, an egg should hatch on the 16th, 17th. The two youngsters were frequently seen during the day--one of them not looking very well--and were fed. They were home most of the time. At 6:10 P.M. I was giving them worms when Neo appeared and took over the job. It looks as if we were to have two broods here at the same time, and the parents may be faced with the decision as to whether they should continue to feed brood number one. About 10 A.M. the sun began to come out. At about 10:30 Rhody was seen going back to his house, coming from the direction of the magpie cage. I do not know how long he remained in the house, but as he has not "incubated" there recently, it would seem that weather con- ditions were influencing his activities. From about 1 P.M. on he had one mouse and meat and at 5:55 I found him back in the house settled for good. He seems to have forgotten all about his first house in the oak on the west lot--or rather, as I do not think he has forgot- ten it, his preference at present is decidedly for the house in the gum tree. Further, he is practically never seen on the west lot and it is weeks since he has been at his post there. This corresponds with his established seasonal behavior. A Nuttall White Crowned Sparrow, doubtless observing the re- sults obtained by the thrashers, has suddenly followed their example and now comes to me for worms for her (?) brood now out of the nest. She will snatch worms from under the young thrashers' bills and then come and stand at my feet with a worm in her bill, chip and wait for me to drop her more. In two days this bird has become bolder and tamer than the young thrashers.