The Nesting of Hepburn's Rosy Finch 



109 



done by holding the camera in my hands, bracing myself against the side of the 

 cliff and guessing at the distance. Fortunately I am a pretty good guesser, and 

 the result was better than circumstances would seem to warrant. It was so good, 

 at any rate, that I kept the plate. 



The nest as will be seen, is situated upon a slight shelf of the rock near where 

 the cliff takes a sharp angle. It was composed of dried grass stems, pine needles 

 and moss. The structure was poorly made, and I am at a loss to understand 

 why the wind did not sweep it away. The eggs, which were about .94 x .50 inches 

 were a bluish white, though I am inclined to believe this was due to the incu- 



NEST AND EGGS OF HEPBURN'S ROSY FINCH 



bation, as they appeared about ready to hatch. I think that the eggs when first 

 deposited are milk-white, from the fact that those in another nest discovered by 

 me the next season were of that color. 



The other two nests of this bird were discovered on Lightning Creek, a trib- 

 utary of the Clark's Fork of the Columbia. This swift stream is born in the 

 glaciers of the Cabinet Range, and comes roaring down out of the mountains 

 like a mill-race. Like the other stream, it flows through a very rocky country. 

 We were fishing the stream near its head, at an elevation above sea-level of at 

 least 10,000 feet. A slide obstructed our progress up stream, and we were obliged 

 to take to the bluffs to get around. While picking our way around a cliff upon 

 which tussocks of grass were growing, a Rosy Finch started from beneath my 



