496 LAND BIRDS 
597a. WESTERN BLUE GROSBEAK. — Guwraca 
cerulea lazula. 
Famity: The Finches, Sparrows, etc. 
Length: 7.00-8.00. 
Adult Male: Plumage plain bright blue, with two brownish wing- 
* bands; under tail-coverts with white borders. 
Adult Female: Plumage grayish brown, tinged with blue. 
Young: Similar to adult female. 
Geographical Distribution: Western United States, north to Colorado, 
California, ete. ; south throughout Mexico. 
California Breeding Range: In lower and possibly upper Sonoran zone, 
recorded from Owens valley, through the San Joaquin-Sacramento 
basin, to Marysville. 
Breeding Season: May 15 to July 15. 
Nest : A deep, cup-shaped structure ; compactly built of dried grasses, 
plant fibre, etc. ; placed in bushes and tall weeds. 
Eggs: 3 or 4; plain pale greenish blue or bluish white. Size 0.87 
x 0.63. 
THE Western Blue Grosbeak is a more difficult bird 
to observe than either the black-headed or the rose- 
breasted Grosbeak. He loves the thickets and brush of 
the valleys, seldom going higher than the foot-hills. 
The male, in plain winter garb, has been mistaken for 
a female cowbird by amateurs, but one glance at the bill 
should correct such a mistake. In the glory of his sum- 
mer blue he is instantly recognized. His song is some- 
what misleading, for although the same sweetly whistled 
turns so characteristic of the Grosbeak song abound in 
it, the tone quality is thinner and less mellow than that 
of the black-headed. Nor does he sing so continuously 
as the latter; perhaps because the days are shorter in 
the canons, where he loves to stay, and he must put in 
more time eating. 
ar 
—_ 
