262 BESIDE THE GEEAT SALT LAKE. 



The lazuli-painted finch should be called the 

 blue-headed finch, for the exquisite blueness of 

 his whole head, including throat, breast, and 

 shoulders, as if he had been dipped so far into 

 blue dye, is his distinguishing feature. The 

 bluebird wears heaven's color ; so does the jay, 

 and likewise the indigo bird ; but not one can 

 boast the lovely and indescribable shade, with 

 its silvery reflections, that adorns the lazuli. 

 Across the breast, under the blue, is a broad 

 band of chestnut, like the breast color of our 

 bluebird, and back of that is white, while the 

 wings and tail are dark. Altogether, he is 

 charming to look upon. Who would not prefer 

 him about the yard to the squawking house 

 sparrow, or even the squabbling chippy? 



My catching the pair at dinner was not an 

 accident ; I soon found out that they lived 

 there, and had settled upon a row of tall rasp- 

 berry bushes that separated the garden from 

 the lawn for their summer home. Madam was 

 already at work collecting her building materi- 

 als, and very soon the fragile walls of her pretty 

 nest were formed in an upright crotch of the 

 raspberries, about a foot below the top. 



Naturally, I was greatly interested in the 

 fairy house building, and often inspected the 

 work while the little dame was out of sight. 

 One day, however, as I was about to part the 



