BALD PEAKS AND GREEN VALES 



51 



them rise several hundred feet into the rarefied atmos- 

 phere over an abyss so deep that it has been named 

 the "Bottomless Pit." 



The pipits frequently flitted from 

 rock to rock, teetering their slender 

 bodies like sandpipers, and chirping 

 their disapproval of my presence. 

 They furnished some evidence 

 of having begun the work 

 of nest construction, although 

 no nests were found, as it was 

 doubtless still too early in 

 the season. In some* respects 

 the pipits are extremely inter- 

 esting, for, while many of 

 them breed in remote northern 

 latitudes, others select the lof- 

 tiest summits of the Rockies 

 for summer homes, where they rear their 

 broods and scour the alpine heights in 

 search of food. The following interesting 

 facts relative to them in this alpine country 

 are gleaned from Professor Cookers pam- 

 phlet on " The Birds of Colorado " : 



In migration they are common through- 

 out the State, hut breed only on the loftiest 

 mountains. They arrive on the plains from 



" Up over the 

 Bottomless Pit 



Pipits 





