156 THE SLATE-COLORED SPARROW. 



of southeastern California, and the mountains of northeastern Cahfcjrnia; south 

 in winter to New Mexico, Arizona, etc. 



Range in Washington. — Summer resident in tiie timl)ered (hstricts of the 

 East-side and in the Cascade Mountains (west to j\lt. Rainier). 



Authorities. — ["Slate-colored sparrow," Johnson, Rep. Gov. W. T. 1884 

 (1885), j_'J. Bendire, Life Hist. N. A. Birds, Vol. H., p. 435. 



THE residents of Cannon Hill, in S[)i>kane, are to be congratulated, 

 not alone for their wealth, for Nature is not curious as to liank accounts, 

 but for the rare good taste which has been displayed in utilizing the largess 

 of Nature. Instead of going in with axe and shovel and fire-brand, first 

 to obliterate the distinctive features of Nature and then rear mocking plati- 

 tudes in mortar and stone upon her pale ashes, they have accepted the glory 

 of her grim la\'a bastions and the grace of her unhewn pines; nor have they 

 even despised the tangles nf wild shrubbery, those decent draperies without 

 which both tree and cliff would be overstark. To be sure the landscape artist 

 with consummate skill has said to the piny sentinel, "Stand here!" and to 

 the co])se, "Sit there!" but he has not forgotten withal the primeval rights 

 of the feathered aborigines. As a result the birds apf^roi'c. What higher 

 meed could mortal ask? Or where is there a better criterion of taste? 

 Taken all in all I doubt if there is a more delightful spot in Washington in 

 which to study bird life, certainh- not within municipal bounds, than 

 Cannon Hill affords. 



Here, for instance, is this wood sjjrite, the very genius of the tmravished 

 wild ; no one would think of looking for him in a cit}', yet of an early morn- 

 ing as the bird-man was passing along Seventh Avenue, he was arrested by 

 the crisp and hearty notes of a Slate-colored Sparrow, coming from a Inish 

 in an artistically unkempt corner of the adjoining yard. In the half liglit, 

 nothing in the pose and appearance of this bird would have induced an 

 ornithologist to bestow a second glance npi ni the evident Song Sparrow, 

 had it not been for the sweet and powerful challenge which poured from 

 his earnest beak. Oorce, rickit, loopitccr, it said, with varied cadence and 

 minor change, which gave evidence of no mean abiIit^^ There is something 

 so forthright and winsome about the song of this modest bird, that the 

 listener promptly stu'reiiders "at discretion," and begins to ask eager questions 

 of his dainty captor. 



A few yards furtber on three of these Sparrows were seen feeding on 

 a well-kept lawn, but ready to skurry at a breath to the shelter of bush- 

 clumps, thoughtfullv provided. And all this in the first week in Jime, the 

 very height of nesting time! With this as an example, what need to speak 

 of Hammond Flycatchers, Mountain Chickadees, Catbirds, Pine Siskins, 

 Audubon Warblers, Shufeldt Jimcoes, Cassin Finches, Pygmy Nuthatches, 

 American Crossbills, Cassin Vireos, Louisiana Tanagers, Ruby-crowned 



