154 BIRDS OF THE ROCKIES 



vice. Becoming confidential, he sputters out a lot of 

 nonsense which causes you to think him a veritable 

 ' whiskey Jack. 1 Yet, whenever he is disposed, a more 

 bland, mind-your-own-business appearing bird will be 

 hard to find; as will also many small articles around 

 camp after one of his visits, for his whimsical brain has 

 a great fancy for anything which may be valuable to 

 you, but perfectly useless to himself." This habit of 

 purloining has won him the title of " camp robber " 

 among the people of the Rocky Mountains. 



Woodhouse^s jay, also peculiar to the Rocky Moun- 

 tain region, is mostly to be found along the base of the 

 foothills and the lower wooded mountains. While he 

 may be called a "blue" jay, having more of that color 

 in his plumage than even the long-crested, he belongs 

 to the Aphelcoma group that is, he is without a crest. 



Every observer of eastern feathered folk is familiar 

 with our " little boy blue," the indigo-bird, whose song 

 is such a rollicking and saucy air, making you feel as if 

 the little lyrist were chaffing you. In Colorado, how- 

 ever, you do not meet this animated chunk of blue, but 

 another little bird that belongs to the same group, 

 called the " painted finches," although their plumes are 

 not painted any more than those of other species. This 

 bird is the lazuli bunting. He wears a great deal of blue, 

 but it is azure, and not indigo, covering the head, neck, 

 most of the upper parts, and the lining of the wings ; 



