AMONG THE BIRDS OP THE YOSEMITE J.BAVELEHS in the Sierra forests usually complain of the want of life. The trees, they say, are fine, but the empty stillness is deadly; there are no animals to be seen, no birds. We have not heard a song in all the woods. And no wonder! They go in large parties with mules and horses; they make a great noise; they are dressed in outlandish, unnatural colors; every animal shuns them. Even the frightened pines would run away if they could. But Nature-lovers, devout, silent, open-eyed, looking and listening with love, find no lack of inhabitants in these mountain mansions, and they come to them gladly. Not to mention the large animals or the small insect people, every waterfall has its ouzel and every tree its squirrel or tamias.dr bird: tiny nuthatch threading the furrows of the bark, cheerily whispering to itself as it deftly pries off loose scales and examines the curled edges of lichens; or Clarke crow or jay examining the cones; or some singer ΓÇö oriole, tana- ger, warbler ΓÇö resting, feeding, attending to domestic affairs. Hawks and eagles sail overhead, grouse walk in happy flocks below, and song sparrows sing in every bed of chaparral. There is no crowding, to be sure. Unlike the low Eastern trees, those of the Sierra in the main forest belt average nearly two hundred feet in height, and of course many birds are required to make much show in them, and many voices to fill them.https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/jmb/1317/thumbnail.jp
