38 BIRDS OF THE ROCKIES 



It is the most conspicuous part of his toilet. His upper 

 parts are grayish-green, becoming slightly deeper green 

 on the tail, from which fact he derives his common 

 name. His white throat and chin are a further diag- 

 nostic mark. The bright yellow of the edge of the 

 wings, under coverts and axillaries is seldom seen, on 

 account of the extreme wariness of the bird. 



In most of the dry and bushy places I found him at 

 my elbow or, rather, some distance away, but in evi- 

 dence by his mellifluous song. Let me enumerate the 

 localities in which I found my little favorite: Forty 

 miles out on the plain among some bushes of a shallow 

 dip ; among the foothills about Colorado Springs and 

 Manitou ; on many of the open bushy slopes along the 

 cog-road leading to Pike's Peak, but never in the dark 

 ravines or thick timber ; among the bushes just below 

 timber-line on the southern acclivity of the peak ; every- 

 where around the village of Buena Vista; about four 

 miles below Leadville ; and, lastly, beyond the range at 

 Red Cliff and Glenwood. 1 



The song, besides its melodious quality, is full of ex- 

 pression. In this respect it excels the liquid chansons 

 of the mountain hermit thrush, which is justly cele- 

 brated as a minstrel, but which does not rehearse a well- 

 defined theme. The towhee's song is sprightly and 



1 This list was greatly enlarged in my second trip to Colorado 

 in 1901. 



