OVER THE DIVIDE AND BACK 131 



ently dropped into one of the openings of the subter- 

 ranean passage, disappeared for a few moments, and 

 then emerged from another opening a little farther 

 away. The bird let me say at once was Say's 

 phoebe, with which, as previously told, I made acquain- 

 tance at Glenwood. He may be recognized by the red- 

 dish or cinnamon-brown cast of his abdomen and sides. 

 Again and again he darted into the passage, perhaps to 

 make sure that his bairns had not been kidnapped, and 

 then came up to keep a vigilant eye on his visitor, whom 

 he was not wholly disposed to trust. I am not sure that 

 there was a nest in the subterranean passage, as my time 

 was too short to look for it. Others may not regard it 

 as an important ornithological discovery, and I do not 

 pretend that it was epoch-making, but to me it was at 

 least interesting to find this species, which was new to 

 me, dwelling at an elevation of five thousand seven hun- 

 dred and fifty-eight feet on the western side of the range, 

 and on the eastern side at an elevation of nine thou- 

 sand five hundred and eighty feet. Nowhere else in my 

 peregrinations among the Rockies did I so much as catch 

 a glimpse of Say's phoebe. 1 



With the exception of some swallows circling about 

 in the air, I saw no other birds during my brief stay at 



1 In 1901 this bird was seen by me in South Park, and its quaint 

 whistle was heard, it says Phe-by, but its tone and expression are 

 different from those of its eastern relative. See the chapter en- 

 titled " Pleasant Outings." 



