156 BIRDS OF THE ROCKIES 







but allowing me to peer at them at will with my field- 

 glass. I could not understand why birds that otherwise 

 were so shy should now permit a prolonged inspection 

 and manifest so little anxiety; but perhaps they rea- 

 soned that they had been discovered anyway, and there 

 was no need of pretending that no lazulis dwelt in the 

 neighborhood. How elegant the little husband looked 

 in his variegated attire ! The wife was soberly clad in 

 warm brown, slightly streaked with dusk, but she was 

 trig and pretty and worthy of her more richly apparelled 

 spouse. In the bushes below I found a well-made nest, 

 which I felt morally certain belonged to the little couple 

 that was keeping such faithful surveillance over it. As 

 yet it contained no eggs. 



In order to make certainty doubly sure, I visited the 

 place a week or so later, and found that my previous con- 

 clusion had been correct. I flushed the little madame 

 from the nest, and saw her flit with a chirp to the twigs 

 above, where she sat quietly watching her visitor, ex- 

 hibiting no uneasiness whatever about her cot in the 

 bushes with its three precious eggs. It was pleasing to 

 note the calmness and dignity with which she regarded 

 me. But where was that important personage, the little 

 husband ? He was nowhere to be seen, although I 

 lingered about the charmed spot for over two hours, 

 hoping to get at least a glimpse of him. A friend, who 

 understands the sly ways of the lazulis, suggested that 



