42 BIRDS OF THE ROCKIES 



fair-sized tubs, the framework composed of good-sized 

 sticks, skilfully plaited together, and the cup lined with 

 grass and other soft material, making a cosey nursery for 

 the infantile magpies. Then the nest proper is roofed 

 over, and has an entrance to the apartment on either 

 side. When you examine the structure closely, you find 

 that it fairly bristles with dry twigs and sticks, and it 

 is surprising how large some of the branches are that 

 are braided into the domicile. All but one of the many 

 nests I found were deserted, for my visit was made in 

 June, and the birds, as a rule, breed earlier than that 

 month. Some were placed in bushes, some in willow 

 and Cottonwood trees, and others in pines ; and the 

 birds themselves were almost ubiquitous, being found 

 on the plains, among the foothills, and up in the moun- 

 tains as far as the timber-line, not only close to human 

 neighborhoods, but also in the most inaccessible soli- 

 tudes. 



In one of my excursions along a stream below Colorado 

 Springs, one nest was found that was still occupied by 

 the brooding bird. It was a bulky affair, perhaps half 

 as large as a bushel basket, placed in the crotch of a 

 tree about thirty feet from the ground. Within this 

 commodious structure was a globular apartment which 

 constituted the nest proper. Thus it was roofed over, 

 and had an entrance at each side, so that the bird could 

 go into his house at one doorway and out at the other, 



