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Birds of Yosemite National Park (1954, 1963) by Cyril A. Stebbins and Robert C. Stebbins

Preface

Even before you have finished establishing your camp in one of the many pleasant campgrounds of Yosemite National Park, you may be visited by a bird accustomed to finding people friendly and ready to share their food. In the face of such confidence one cannot be intolerant of the behavior of the colorful western tanager (see cover) when he alights on the camp table and helps himself to the butter, nor can one feel harshly toward the raucous Steller’s jay as he boldly snatches a piece of bread and eats it out of reach but in full view of camp.

As with many of the animals in Yosemite, birds have come to regard man as a relatively harmless feature of their environment and therefore go about seeking their food, building nests and rearing their young with a minimum of diversion due to his presence. This results in a most favorable situation for one who would study the birds, for it often allows close approach and detailed observation of birds with little alteration of their behavior. Indeed, in Yosemite the birds will force your attention upon them whether you are a bird lover or not, for who can fail to be interested in the bird that joins the family circle at mealtime or feeds its young within a few feet of one’s tent?

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