TUUCIIILID.K — Till:: liLMMINij-BIKD.S. 4f,-[ 



Upon the intruder, proilueinj,' a hollow rusliin;,' sound, like that of the Nij^ht- 

 Ilawk, l>ut nf a much sharper tone. These sounds are jaoducetl hy the 

 win^s. In July, wiien tjnwers are more ahundant anionj,' the nmuntain sum- 

 mits, they leave tlie lower eountry. Dr. ( 'ooper found them ahundant in 

 Aui^'ust at an elevation of nearly six thousand feet, and where ice was 

 formed at ni,^ht in their eamj>. 



In California, ])r. Cooper lias not foun<l any of this speeies remaining,' in 

 winter, even at San Dirgo, where, hoWL*\er, he has kncnvn them to arrive as 

 early as tlie r>th of Kehruary. lie also saw several on the 2lM (»f the same 

 month feeding among tlie tlowers of the evergreen gooseberry. ]5y the lirst 

 of Ai>ril they were swarming ahout San Diego. Their young are hatehed 

 before the middle of dune. Wiien perehing, this species is said to utter a 

 shrill wiry call, like the highest note of a violin. They also produce a curi- 

 ous kind of bleating sound. They are auKjug the most noi.sy and lively of 

 their race, are very ([uarrelsome, chase each other away from favorite tlowers, 

 rising into the air until out of sight, chirping as they go in the most excited 

 manner. 



Mr. Lord noticed the arrival of this species at Little S}»okan IJivor, in 

 latitude V.y\ earlv in May. lie found their nests usually in low shrubs and 

 clc^e to rijtpling streams. The females of this and other species are said to 

 arrive about a week later than the males. 



Dr. Heermann for several successive seasons found many pairs of these 

 birds breeding in the vicinity of San Francisco. 



Mr. Xuttall compares the. appearance of the male birds of this species, 

 when he approached too near their nests, to an angry coal of brilliant lire, 

 as they darted upon him, })assing within a few inches of his face as they 

 returned again and again to the attack, making a sound as of a breaking 

 twig. 



Dr. Woodhouse, who found this bird al)undant in New ^Fexico, ]»articu- 

 larly in the yicinity of Santa Fe, speaks of the great noi.se they make for so 

 small a bird, and of their (piarrelsome and pugnacious dis]>osition. 



Mr. 11. lirown, in his .synoj)sis of the birds of Vancouver Island, notes the 

 ap])earance of this si)ccies, from the end of March to the beginning of May, 

 according to the state of the season. Its nest was built on the tii)s of low 

 bushes, or the under branches of trees. This was the only species of I lam- 

 ming- Bird seen west of the Cascade Mountains. 



The Ifufous Ilunnner was first noticed by Mr. Ilidgway in the yalley of the 

 Truckee Iliyer, in August, where it was the only species shot, and was ex- 

 tremely abundant among the sunflowers which ornament the meadows. In 

 May of the succeeding year, when the same locality was again yisited, not 

 one of this S])ecies was to be found, its place being a]i])arently supi»lied by 

 the T. aJf.randri, which was (piite common, and breeding. Eastward it was 

 met with as far as the East Humboldt Mountains, where, howeyer, only a 

 single pair was seen, and one of them shot, in September. 



