320 OliNlTriOLOCY. 



2. Birds of the cedar or nut-pine //ro yes. —These gi-oves are generally 

 found on tlie lower slopes and foot-hills of the desert ranges, between 

 elevations of about 5,000 and 7,000 feet, and occur even in the most barren 

 and arid districts. In general, two species, the western cedar {Juniperns 

 occidentalis) and the nut-pine, or piuon (Pinus monophjUus'), are mixed 

 together, but often only one species, the former, is the sole constituent of 

 th.ese groves, this being usually the case on the more barren mountains in 

 the absolutely waterless districts; the latter, on the other hand, prevailing 

 on those ranges which have copious streams in the canons. These trees are 

 of low, compact habit and unshapely form, their height rarely exceeding 

 15 feet, while the branches are characteristically crooked and the trunks 

 short, rugged, and twisted.^ Along the upper edge of this belt occur, more 

 or less plentifully, trees of the "mountain mahogany" {Cercocarpus ledifoliiis), 

 equally stunted and scraggy, but with scant, deciduous foliage. These 

 monotonous groves are seldom inhabited by many birds, but, on the other 

 hand, are often so nearly devoid of animal hfe that an entire day may be 

 spent among the gnarled and stunted trees without a single living thing 

 being seen, or a sound heard except the far-away croak of a solitary raven 

 from some distant hills. Sometimes, however, the profound silence is 

 broken for a moment by the chattering of a Gray Titmouse {Lophophanes 

 inornatus) or the twittering of a straggling troop of the diminutive "Fairy 

 Titmice" (Psaltriparus plumheus), while the intruder may be suddenly 

 startled by the piercing whistle of a little Chipmunk (Tamias qtiadrivittatns). 

 Occasionally, a solitary Myiadestes toivnsendi flies silently by, and more 

 frequently a flock of querulous Pinon Jays {Gymnokitta cyanocepliala) 

 sweeps overhead, when all is again silent. In case these woods occur on 



' Ou the foot-bills or lower slopes of the Wabsatcli these woods are represeuted 

 by the dwarf-oak "scrub"— the westein cedar having di»sappeared far to the westward. 

 This scrub consists of a dense growth of oak bushes about 5-15, rarely 20, feet high, 

 the species being considered by botanists a dwarf form of Quercus alba. The birds 

 inhabiting these oaks are much the same as those found in the cedar and nut-pine 

 groves, with the exception of Gymnokitta cyanocepliala and Myiadestes toicnsendi, the 

 first of which appears to be peculiar to the cedars, while the other occurs elsewhere 

 only iu the high coniferous woods. In addition to these specfes, Ilelmintliopliaga Vir- 

 ginia:, Pipilo mcgalonyx, and Cyanocitta troodJiousii may be regarded among the most 

 characteristic species of the oak thickets. 



