WESTERN TANAGER 467 



appeared shy and almost silent, not having there apparently com- 

 menced breeding. About the middle of May we observed the males 

 in small numbers scattered through the dark pine forests of the 

 Columbia, restless, shy, and flitting when approached, but at length 

 more sedentary when mated." 



The western tanager breeds from northwestern British Columbia and 

 southwestern Mackenzie to southern California, southern Arizona, 

 and central-western Texas, mainly in the mountains in the southern 

 portions of its range, and shows a decided preference for the coniferous 

 forests of pines or firs. 



In western Washington, in the vicinity of Tacoma and Seattle, we 

 found this tanager common at lower levels, usually at an elevation of 

 1,500 feet or less, wherever there was a growth of tall Douglas firs, but 

 S. F. Rathbun told me that he sometimes found it as high as 4,000 feet 

 in the mountains. 



It is a common summer resident in the western half of Montana, 

 where Aretas A. Saunders (1921) says that it breeds "in the Transi- 

 tion and Canadian zones, showing a marked preference for forests of 

 Douglas fir on the east side of the divide, and for mixed forests of 

 Douglas fir, yellow pine and larch on the west side. Occurs in migra- 

 tion in cottonwood groves in the valleys." 



In the Uinta Basin, Utah, Arthur C. Twomey (1942) found that 

 "this species ranges through a number of altitudinal communities, 

 varying from 7,500 to 10,000 feet, from the yellow pine, blue spruce, 

 aspen, and lodgepole pine, to the alpine fir Communities. 



"Western tanagers frequently were heard singing from the tops of 

 the highest cotton woods along the Green River during May, but at no 

 time were they ever numerous. The last to be seen and taken (June 9) 

 in the low country was a female with well-developed ovaries. The 

 following day, June 10, a trip was made to the yellow-pine forests at 

 Green Lake. Here the western tanagers were at the height of their 

 breeding season. Males could be heard from all corners of the forest, 

 singing their clear song." 



H. W. Henshaw (1875) says: "In 1873, in Southern Colorado, the 

 species was found in small numbers among the cottonwoods along the 

 streams, at an elevation of about 7,500 feet. On reaching the pines, 

 at an elevation of about 9,000 feet, they were found to be present in 

 much greater numbers, and at 10,000 feet were still common." 



In California, the western tanager occurs as a breeding bird in the 

 coniferous forests of the mountain ranges throughout the State, more 

 sparingly in the coastal ranges, and more abundantly in the Sierra 

 Nevada, where it breeds from 3,000 feet up to the summits. On 

 migrations it occurs over the entire length and breadth of the State, 

 even in the lowlands. Referring to the Lassen Peak region, Grinnell, 



