344 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 part i 



sacs. Whichever sex arrived first at the nest, the other perched op- 

 posite. Either sex might choose either side. Generally, but not al- 

 ways, the first parent to arrive fed the young first. At times it 

 removed a fecal sac from the nest and then usually waited at the nest or 

 on a perch nearby for its mate. Except for three occasions when the 

 female remained to brood, the parents departed together. Frequent- 

 ly, this departure involved a chasing ceremony with one bird diving at 

 its perched mate, forcing it to fly, and chasing it across the meadow. 

 Either sex might be the chaser. 



The measurements of 12 eggs average 24.9 by 17.5 millimeters; the 

 eggs showing the four extremes measure 26.3 by 17.9, 23.3 by 17.3, and 

 25.4 by 16.9 millimeters. 



Distribution 



Range. — Boreal summits of Rocky Mountains from Alberta to New 

 Mexico. 



Breeding range. — Breeds from interior British Columbia (Punt- 

 chesakut Lake, Mount Revelstoke) and southwestern Alberta (Jasper 

 House, Banff) south through the northern Cascade Range and Rocky 

 Mountains to central and southeastern Washington (Mount Rainier), 

 northeastern Oregon (Wallowa Mountains) , south central Utah (Cedar 

 Breaks), central eastern Arizona (White Mountains), and central 

 northern New Mexico (Truchas Peak). 



Winter range. — Winters from southern British Columbia (Point-no- 

 point, Alta Lake, Okanagan Landing), and southern Alberta (Red 

 Deer) south to southeastern Oregon (Crane), southwestern New 

 Mexico (Kingston), northwestern Texas (Pampa), and western 

 Nebraska. 



PINICOLA ENUCLEATOR CALIFORNICA Price 



California Pine Grosbeak 



Habits 



This high Sierran form was described by William W. Price (1897) 

 as follows: "It differs from P. e. canadensis in the much larger, more 

 hooked and less turgid bill, and in the almost entire absence of dark 

 centers to the feathers on the back and scapulars," 



He says of its haunts: "This apparently very distinct Pinicola is 

 an inhabitant of the higher Sierra Nevada Mountains of Central 

 California. It is strictly an alpine species; I have never seen it below 

 7000 feet and I have taken it near timber-line. It is peculiar to the 

 belt of tamarack pine {Pinus murrayana) and the beautiful red alpine 

 fir (Abies magnifica), and most of the specimens taken were from the 

 latter tree. According to my observations this bird is uncommon, 



