The mountains of California . enhe seeks the deeper portions of the main rivers,where he may dive to clear water beneath thesludge. Or he repairs to some open lake or mill-pond, at the bottom of which he feeds in safety. When thus compelled to betake himself to alake, he does not plunge into it at once like aduck, but always alights in the first place uponsome rock or fallen pine along the shore. Thenflying out thirty or forty yards, more or less, ac-cording to the character of the bottom, he alightswith a dainty glint on the surface, swims about,looks down, finally makes up his mind, and dis-
The mountains of California . enhe seeks the deeper portions of the main rivers,where he may dive to clear water beneath thesludge. Or he repairs to some open lake or mill-pond, at the bottom of which he feeds in safety. When thus compelled to betake himself to alake, he does not plunge into it at once like aduck, but always alights in the first place uponsome rock or fallen pine along the shore. Thenflying out thirty or forty yards, more or less, ac-cording to the character of the bottom, he alightswith a dainty glint on the surface, swims about,looks down, finally makes up his mind, and dis-appears with a sharp stroke of his wings. Afterfeeding for two or three minutes he suddenly re-appears, showers the water from his wings withone vigorous shake, and rises abruptly into the airas if pushed up from beneath, comes back to hisperch, sings a few minutes, and goes out to diveagain; thus coming and going, singing and divingat the same place for hours. The Ouzel is usually found singly; rarely in THE WATEK-OITZEL 285. pairs, excepting during thebreeding season, and iwrtj rarelyin threes or fours. I once ob-served three thus spending awinter morning in company,upon a small glacier lake, onthe Upper Merced,about 7500feetabovethe level of the storm had occurredduring the night,but the morning sunshone unclouded, andthe shadowy lake,gleaming darkly inits setting of fresh,snow, lay smoothand motionless as amirror. My campchanced to be withina few feet of the waters edge, opposite a fallen pine, some of thebranches of which leaned out over the lake. Here 11
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectcaliforniadescriptio
