The morning call., 1894-04-15

Southern California is enjoying its most
delightful season-that in which the land
is covered with flowers. the orange groves
are thronged with birds, and melody and
the odor of blossoms fill the air.
The San Gabriel Valley is famous for
its birds. seeming to be the rendezvous for
myriads of feathered songsters. This
happy valley, from almost every portion
of which one may hear the old Mission
bells if the wind is fair. is surrounded by
mountains; those en- the north aud east,
the Sierras. from 5000 TO 10000 feet. if we
include the snow peaks of San Antonio
on the south rise the Mission and Puente
hills, while to the west are the Verdugo
and other hills and spurs of the man
range. The environment is perfect and
forms seemingly great natural blrdcage,
from which at the veriest suggestion OF
morning the bird melody begins. Inc
orange groves are filed with little song
Sters, and the apple. pear, apricot ana
almond trees, now rich In pink and whte
blossoms, whose falling petals constitute
the spoWfakes of the lowland, resound
with bird anthems. l should hardly like
TO saw how many different kinds Of birds
break fast with US daily, for fear OF exclt-
ing the credulity of Eastern ornitnologists.
but habit of thro wing out crumbs and
seeds every night in certain spot brings
a wonderful assortment of sOngse ers, from
black birds down to the small sparrows
and bluebirds. From early dawn they
pour out their songs, filling every tree.
coming and going in tiocks, and we fancy
an important convention has been held in
I,-p
rise the meadowlark begins its song-to
me the most delightful bird notes of Call
fornia; ventrilOQuistic perform ance, sug-
gestVe of joyous lip.
The forests or the brush are sin gularly
free of birds; nearly all live near or about
the town, where they can be seen and
heard. In the brush, especially in deep
CANYONS, a blue shrike is always seen,
diving down into the green depths with
CRY not unpleasant. Nearly all the birds
are residents here and may be fund in
varying numbers all the year, while many
more regularly migrate north and south.
One of the Interesting sights here is the
passing of ducks, geese and 6erOnS. They
go south in thousands in late August and
September and north in March and April,
invariably passing over the San Gahrlel
Valley, following the line of the Sierra
Madres. | have frequently seen them
from below, but few days ago looked
down upon them from the slope of the
mountains about 1000 feet up. The birds,
a vast numb Der, were 1000 feet or more
below me and flying in V-shaped figures.
moving at a rate OF certainly forty miles an
hour, as they were not only flying rapidly.
but at an angle which brought them with
in perhaps 1000 feet of the valley every
ten or fifteen minutes. At such times
vociferous cries would be heard, and the
leader would stop and fly blindly about.
and for few seconds the whole flock
would be In disorder; then the leader
WOE ID sweep around in a circle, tie others
following, until the entire band formed
gigantic screw, whirling. rising and sweep
ing upward. One moment, in the turn.
the birds would be black; the next, as the
sun struck their white backs, the eye
would be fairly daZzled by the glitter and
CLEAN. could compare it to nothing but