morning. Song seemed to be by only one bird. By 7:30 it had shifted to Neo's private area. By 8 it had ceased, and I found a lone thrasher digging industriously at the base of a fuchsia an the external angle where the north walls of the shop and the office meet. This bird did not accept worms and kept on digging until Rhody butted in from nowhere and gobbled all worm offerings, there- after following to the tool-house for small mouse. He then retired to his presently favored flat screen to digest and doze. At 9 o'clock a thrasher was singing full song continuously from the iron-wood nearest the oval lawn. For 15 minutes I could recognize no familiar phrases, but, by a series of almost impercept- ible gradation he modified one particular phrase until it became Neo's unmistakable victree, which he continued to introduce in his song at frequent intervals up to 9:30, when he flew to the west. He could now be heard renewing song from post to post, working west and north, then east. I was busy on the south slope, so did not check up on him at the north; but, in one hour, he was back again singing in the ironwood adjoining the first one. Another thrasher was now eating silently at the oval lawn feeding station. I thought this bird probably N2. It worked gradually toward the singing tree and, before climbing it, was induced to come to me for worms. Neo had now shifted to the pine just east 20 or 30 feet and the second bird climbed the tree to join him, remaining there when Neo shifted to the pine near the cage which, in notes long ago was called the Sparrowhawk pine. The evidence so far pointed to Neo's having been following the course which usually (at this season) results in the gathering of a convention, but with no success beyond attracting his mate(?) N2. (Informally we call her Long-tail here, because of the contrast between her and Neo when he was bob-tailed). Neo now (10:30) struck up full song from the SH (Sparrow- hawk) pine and was joined by another thrasher while the suspected N2 remained in her pine and answered with full song respectively. More thrashers began to gather and, by 11 o'clock a convention was in full swing. Temperature in the court was 69°, in harmony with yesterday's thought that a hot day discouraged song and conventions, but, of course proving nothing. N2(?) now began to near the SH tree, singing from the old oak for several minutes first. There were now 4 thrashers in full sight just north of the wall, digging the lawn and shrubbery. One of these, on invitation, mounted the wall and ran along its crest to take worms about 6 feet from my face. (Neo). With him in the group that now assembled on the lawn, two other birds--leaving one to dig by itself--and Neo began that odd stiff-legged march back and forth, near to each other, but avoid ing conflict, with bills raised toward the sky. N2(?), with whom I had been keeping contact by ear, was gradually approaching and now joined the group on the lawn, but did no marching. There were now five thrashers in plain sight: three of them at one time or another marching or foraging. To check up on N2 as being the bird I had fed but a few minutes before on her way to join Neo, I induced her to come to the top of the wall and come to me for worms. Thus, of the 5 thrashers, two were at least friendly and relatively tame, wheth or my identifications are correct or not. Most of the birds joined in the continuous flow of conver- sation at one time or another, but none of this talk was such as one hears between parents and young, whether in or out of the nest, up to and including the period when they are being chased away. About noon the birds began to drift away in various direction and quiet reigned. It appeared that the convention was over; but in a few minutes, song again sounded from the acacia at the east end of the cage. This was answered by talk from N2(supposedly) from