1596 leaving for parts unknown in a few minutes. Neo and mate were not seen all day, although I looked for them several times. Thrasher song was renewed about 3:30--this time off to the south west--and continued for a half hour or more. Rhody was not in his house at 10 A.M. and could not be located. He was found about 11:30 in tree 15 on the south bank by the clearing (See map p. 1313A). He wanted no food. About noon I ap- proached him with a piece of meat and he cried. I handed it to him and he ate it while on his perch, using considerable care not to drop it, as was perfectly apparent. He did not leave this place until a little after 4 P.M., and then started, very cautiously, toward his old roost. Instead of going there in the open as is his custom, he took a circuitous route along the edge of the thicket, stopping oft- en to look and listen. He reached the ladder tree (about 60 yards from his starting point) in 15 minutes, and used up nearly three- quarters of an hour before making his last leap to the roof tree. On arriving there he did not go at once into the house, but waited 3 minutes, then made one short, quick dash of 3 feet to enter it and, almost instantly was in sleeping posture--tail flattened vertically up against the back wall: 5:02 P.M., a late retirement. (Sun shining brightly, calm, 58°). Ever since 11:30 A.M. his attitude had been one of more or less tension--which, confirmed more or less by the behavior of other birds--including hawks--I attributed to the presence real or suspected of accipiters. A sharp-shin was here in the morn- ing and, about 3:50, a Cooper's came out of the trees at a point close to the roost-tree. Others had also been seen high over-head. Some of these Rhody had reacted to. Jan. 18th. (Sunrise 7:23, sunset 5:17). First thrashers song heard in the garden at almost precisely 7 A.M., lasting for a half hour then stopping. (Partly cloudy, calm, rain threatening). At 10:10, no thrashers having been seen, scripping was heard to the west. I went to the fence and called. Scripping stopped at once and, in less than a minute, Neo came out of the dense baccharis growth for his worms, almost immediately followed by his more stand- offish mate. The sky now suddenly "turned inside-out" and I bolted for shelter, Neo et al doing the same. (50°). At 12:15 P.M. Julio was delegated to go down and see if Rhody was in his house and needed sustenance. Rhody was and accepted gratefully a piece of Hamburger "as big as two mice" without leaving his house. At 1:25 rich thrasher song, strongly reminiscent of Brownie's performances, was heard off in the direction of the glad. I approach- ed carefully, thinking it might be a stranger. This bird was using torquita, torkpeelya, torkeeya phrases like Brownie's, but unlike the latter, was repeating some of them as many as five times. He also had a whistling song much like that of the Black-headed grosbeak. The song ceased shortly and a very wet thrasher came out of the sage- patch, ran toward me and took worms from my fingers: Neo, with his broken tail feather, much improved in song quality (of tone) and variety of phraseology. Unlike Brownie, he nips my fingers when taking worms. Neo was followed at respectful distance by, I sup- pose, N2, judging by their attitude toward each other and me. Both climbed the old oak and both sang full song at the same time. Their relations were friendly, and there is no good reason to doubt that N2 was the second singer, except that it was a performance hereto- fore not heard from her. Both soon departed and were not traced.