40 BIRDS OF THE ROCKIES 



and throat, shading off into the yellow of the breast. 

 These colors form a picturesque combination, especially 

 if set against a background of green. The crimson 

 staining gives him the appearance of having washed his 

 face in some bright-red pigment, and like an awkward 

 child, blotched his bosom with it in the absence of a 

 napkin. 



So far as I could analyze it, there is no appreciable 

 difference between his lyrical performances and those of 

 the scarlet tanager, both being a kind of lazy, drawling 

 song, that is slightly better than no bird music at all. 

 One nest was found without difficulty. It was placed 

 on one of the lower branches of a pine tree by the road- 

 side at the entrance to Engleman^s Canon. As a rule, 

 the males are not excessively shy, as so many of the 

 Rocky Mountain birds are. The tanagers were seen far 

 up in the mountains, as well as among the foothills, and 

 also at Red Cliff and Glenwood on the western side of 

 the Divide. 



A unique character in feathers, one that is peculiar 

 to the West, is the magpie, who would attract notice 

 wherever he should deign to live, being a sort of grand 

 sachem of the outdoor aviary. In some respects the 

 magpies are striking birds. In flight they present a 

 peculiar appearance ; in fact, they closely resemble boys' 

 kites with their long, slender tails trailing in the 

 breeze. I could not avoid the impression that their 



