1617 August 21st. Thrasher convention still on. About 5:30 A.M., continuous song of thrashers was heard nearby, coming from several directions. During a lull about 8 o'clock, I went out to investigate. Four thrashers were found in a small oak by the shop-yard wall. Rhody was gathering pine need- les directly below them apparently oblivious to their presence, in- tent upon his own affairs. (He took a sheaf of these needles to house No. 2--yet he will not now sleep in that house). The four thrashers were not singing, but "talking" and moving about in the tree, although there seemed to be no hostility. Another thrasher was singing continuous full song from a pine about 40 feet to the north, and still another in a similar tree about the same distance to the south. They all gradually dispersed and the rest of the forenoon was quiet. "New" thrasher not Neo . About 2 P.M. I heard Neo's unmistakeable victoree, victo- reea phrases in a song toward the glade. This gave an opportunity to see if he was the "new" thrasher. He is not. Although much im- proved in appearance, he has still a long way to go before he is as sleek and finished in appearance as that bird. He is still very shy. While trying unsuccessfully to get him to take tossed worms another thrasher was "talking" in the bushes behind me as one thrash- er does to its mate. Perhaps N2; so the present guess is that N2 is the "new" thrasher. However, "she" did not respond to my efforts either. Rhody was home most of the day, had one mouse and slept in his old house. August 22nd and 23rd. Convention continues. I left about 9 A.M. and returned at 5 P.M. on the 23rd. Thrash er song was first heard about 5:10 A.M., on the 23rd. Before I left the convention had begun to assemble in and about the pine near the cage. On my return Julio informed me that, on both days, there had been "too many thrashers" and the convention had convened as on previous days recently. Rhody had run true to form and demonstrated that, if he is hungry enough, he can eat the large mice that he has frequently re- jected lately. August 24th. (Sunrise 5:32, sunset 6:52). I first heard thrasher song (near my window) at about 5:30 A.M. It gradually ceased and, at 8 A.M., little was to be heard. (The birds were probably busy foraging). About 9 A.M. it revived and, at about 9:20, fine song of a single bird was located in the acacia at the cage. I went and sat down nearby. Rhody, after having a huge drink, was off about a hundred feet sunning. Tree Soon other thrashers began to assemble, the acacia and the adjacent by the lone singer being the focal point. Shortly I could locate 4 birds altogether, some of them having announced their ap- proach by scrapping, thus enabling me to trace them and sometimes see them travelling along the ground. Songshow increased in number; the original singer maintained his place in the acacia singing almost continuously. There were probably other thrashers present besides those located by sound, as is usually the case. Bird No. 1 was manifestly the one that attracted the gathering and it is perhaps a no more than a curious coincidence that--insofar as my offhand