r,8G NORTH AMEhlCAN UIRDS. 



iniiH.'i (lues ill tlio KiiHterii Stiitcs. Dr. ('(lopcr stiites it to bo a very common 

 bird ill »\'a8liiiiti;toii Territorv, I'speciivlly in tliu wintor, when it cnim's almiit 

 Ilia lioiisos iiutl t'aniis witli iiruciscly the suiao liiihits hh tiui (jomnion Atliuitii! 

 s](('('iiis. In the NUinnun' it is seen iihoiit l'ii<,'t!t Soiiiiii, in wliich iiei;,'lihorii(io(l 

 it hrei'ds. He met with younj,' Hetl<,'ling.s us early as May 24. At timt season 

 llicy were not j,'regari()us, and were f'miiul prineipally ahout tlie edges of wood.s, 



Air. iiiilgway also regards the western Snowbird as, in all appreciable 

 respects, an exact counterpart of the eastern lit/I'm a/ in. In siinniKn' he found 

 it inhabiting the jiiiie woods of the mountains, but in winter descending to 

 the lowlands, and entering the towns ami gardens in the same manner with 

 the enstern sjiecies. 



Dr. Coojier states this species to be numerous in winter in nearly every 

 part of ("alifornia. In tlie summer it resides among the mountains down to 

 the .'52(1 parallel. On the coast he has not determined its residence farther 

 south than Monterey. The coolness of that locality, and its extensive for- 

 ests of pines extending to the coast, favor thr residence of such birds during 

 the summer. At San Diego he observed t'.em until the first of April, when 

 they retired to the neighboring mountains. A few also were found in the 

 Colorado Valley in the winter. On the Coast Mountains south of Santa 

 Clara he found them breeding in large numbers in May, 1864. One nest 

 contained young, just ready to fly, as early as May 18. This was built in a 

 cavity among the roots of a large tre«! on a steep liaiik. It was made of 

 leaves, grasses, and fine root-fibres. On the outside it was covered with an 

 abundant coating of green moss, raised above the surface of the ground. The 

 old birds lietrayed tiie presence <.,.' the nest by their extreme anxiety. On 

 the 20th he found another nest on the very summit of the mountains, sup- 

 posed to be a second laying, as it contained iiut three eggs. It was slightly 

 sunk in the ground under a fern, and formed like the other, but with less 

 moss around its edge. It was lined with cows' and horses' hair. The eggs 

 were bluish-white, with blackish-brown spots of various sizes thickly sprin- 

 kled around the larger end, and measuring .74 by .60 of an inch. 



The only song Dr. Cooper noticed, of this species, was a faint trill much 

 like that of the Spizclla socialis, delivered I'rom the top of some low tree in 

 March and April. At other times they have only a sharp call-note, by which 

 they are distinguishable I'rom other Sparrows. While some migrate far to 

 the soutii in winter, others remain as far north as the Columbia Uiver, fre- 

 ([uentiug, in large numbers, the vicinity of barns and houses, especially when 

 tlie snow is on the ground. They raise two broods in a season. 



Dr. Coues found this species a very common winter resident in Arizona, 

 arriving at Fort Whipple about October 10, soon becoming very abundant, 

 and continuing so until the second week in April. Stragglers were seen until 

 May 10. 



Dr. Woodhouse also observed numbers of the western Snowbird on the 

 San Francisco Mountains, in the month of October, where they were very 



