THE OSPREY. 



An lllustrtited Xlaj^aJiine of F'opulai- Orriithologj^ 

 P6hlis})ed [VIooth)ly ex;eept in July aort Auyust. 



Volume III. 



MAY, 1899. 



NUMBKK 9. 



Original Articles. 



THrKHKK"S JUNCO. 

 Bv Hkxkv W. Cakkikkk. Sunmna. Cal. 



Among winter arrivals at my home in So- 

 noma County, Cal.. is Thurl)er"s Jiinco. It ar- 

 rives early in October and soon beeomes com- 

 mon. It i.s a sociable bird, often seen in band.s 

 nith vaiioiis Sparrows. Its food seems to be 

 almost entirely seeds, those of purslain being- 

 favorites with it in tliis locality. 



and I had the pleasure of finding two of their 

 nests. 



One who has never been in the Sierras can 

 not realize how beautiful they are. In every 

 direction one may glance, the grand forest of 

 beautiful eve:grcens extends as far as he can 

 see. Coni|i;incl with these the dull oaks of the 



iNb.-.I AND EljUS OF THURBER S JUKOO. 



It has a pleasant winter note, which, when 

 the bird is in bands, so blends with the others 

 as to form somewTiat of a song. When warm 

 days of spring come it begins to be less com- 

 mon, and by May all have departed for their 

 breeding grounds. Before ISO? I never had the 

 pleasure of meeting these liirds in their 

 homes, but from June 7 to I.'i 1 was in the Si- 

 erras of Eldorado County, at about 3,750 feet 

 altitude, where the birds were fairly common. 



valleys are as glass to the diamond. In the dis- 

 tance the forest seems lil<e a solid mass of 

 foliage, but nearer the observer the beauty 

 of the country is fully displayed. The great 

 firs which for so many years have escaped the 

 fury of the elements tower 200 feet toward 

 the sky, while nearer by the pines, spruces 

 and cedars reach well aloft. Underneath a 

 thick carpet of pine needles is everj-where 

 spread, though in places hidden by that beau- 



