402 Birds of Colorado 



with white ; iris brown, upper mandible dusky, lower greyish-blue, 

 feet dark horn. Length 6-80 ; wing 3-50 ; tail 2-95 ; culmen -67 ; 

 tarsus -80. 



The female is tawny-brown above, with a slight wash of blue on the 

 rump, below paler brown or buffy, darkest on the breast — wing 3-35 ; 

 a very young female is more dusky and shows narrow dark streaks 

 below, while inmiature males show intermediate stages between adult 

 females and males, gradually assuming the latter's plumage. 



Distribution. — Breeding from California and Nebraska southwards 

 to the tableland of Mexico ; in winter the lower parts of Mexico and 

 Central America to southern Costa Rica. 



The Western Blue Grosbeak is a somewhat miconmion and locally 

 distributed sxunmer resident in Colorado, found most commonly in 

 the south-eastern part of the State, though it has been taken as far 

 north as Altona in Boulder co. (Felger & Dille) and Wray in Yuma co., 

 where it is not uncommon and breeds (Smith). It does not enter the 

 mountains or indeed extend to a higher level than about 6,000 feet, 

 nor has it been recorded at all from the west side of the continental 

 Divide. It arrives rather late about the end of May, and leaves again 

 in early September. Additional localities are : Morrison in Jefferson 

 CO. (Smith apud Cooke) ; El Paso and Lincoln cos. (Aiken) ; Pueblo co. 

 ^Beckham), and Fort Lyon (Thorne apud Cooke). 



Habits. — ^Western Blue Grosbeaks are generally found 

 along the banks of streams where there are some trees 

 and bushes. They are always rather local. They feed 

 chiefly on seeds and buds, crushing the larger grains 

 with their stout bills. The males sing quite sweetly 

 in the breeding season, but are not specially highly rated 

 in this respect. 



P. L. Jones found four nests near Beulah in Pueblo 

 CO. in the summer of 1897, but gives no details. Goss 

 describes a nest taken near Wallace in Kansas, on June 

 16th, as being built about seven feet from the ground 

 in a willow tree ; it was composed of the inner bark of 

 a dead cotton-wood, mixed with leaves and bits of paper 

 and lined with fine rootlets ; it contamed three eggs, 

 blueish-white in colour, and unmarked ; they measured 

 •85 X -66. 



