Winter Birds of Colorado. 1 H) 



Comparatively few species breed at great elevations and 

 "winter on the plains, chiefly because the climate of the plains 

 is frequently more severe than that of the mountains and 

 there is certainly less shelter. But there are a good number 

 of birds which make slight vertical migrations, such as the 

 Long-crested Jay, which is found along the foot-hills in 

 winter, and nests in the higher elevations, from 7000 to 

 11,000 ft., while the Grey-headed Junco (J unco cauiceps) 

 makes the same movements. 



Among the birds which keep to liigh elevations throughout 

 the year are the Ptarmigan {Layopus leucurus), the Pipit 

 {Anthiis pennsylvanicus), and the Leucostictes, of which we 

 have four species — one (Leucosticte australis) resident and 

 breeding, though the eggs have never yet been taken, the 

 others {L. tephrocotis, L. littoralis, and L. atrata) only in 

 Colorado during the winter months. At this season all the 

 species associate together in flocks at or al)out timl)er-liiie 

 (13,500 ft.). How they manage to pick up a ]i\iiig is a 

 mystery, but on Pike's Peak they are very numerous round 

 the house of the engineer in charge of the Colorado Springs 

 water-supply, which is derived from several lakes on the 

 slopes of the mountain. They feed on tlie refuse-heap near 

 the house and seem to do fairly well. 



Occasionally after a severe storm the Leucostictes are 

 driven down to lower altitudes in enormous numbers. Such 

 was the case on April 20th, 1874, when. Mr. Aiken found 

 literally thousands of these birds in an empty lot in the 

 town of Canon City and secured large numbers for his 

 collection ; among them were the types of L. atrata 

 subsequently described by Mr. Ridgway. 



I append a list of our winter-birds found in El Paso 

 County, of which Colorado Springs is the country seat. Thev 

 are placed in two categories, as re>idents all the year round 

 and as winter-visitors. Examples of all of them are in the 

 Aitken collection of birds in the Colorado College 31u.seum. 

 The birds are arranged and named in accordance Mith the 

 A. O.U. Check-list. 



