FlUN(ilI,LII).K — TIIK I'lNCIIKS. g5 



it in T/)ng'8 expedition. It was ol served, llmufili rnivly, along tlio hanks uf 

 tiie Aikimsiis li'ivcr liiirinj,' tlic .siininicr iiinnlliH, as far as the haso of tlio 

 liocky iMountains. It was said to I'liMinent tiie l)usliy valleys, keejiing nnicli 

 in the grass, niter its food, an<l seldom alighting on (iither trees or shrulis. 



Townsend, who found this ratlier a common liird on the dolundiia, re- 

 garded it as shy and retiring in its hal>its, the female lieing very rarely seen. 

 It iios.se.sses lively and jdeasing powers of .song, which it pours i'ortli from 

 the uiii)er hranches of low trei's. Its nests were usually found jtlaeed in 

 willows along tlu! margins of streams, and were cfimposed of small sticks, 

 fine grasses, and hnlVahi-hair. 



Mr. Nuttall found the nest uf this liird fastened l)etween the stem and two 

 branches of a large fern. It was fuunel-sha])ed, iieing si.\ inches in height 

 and three in hreadth. 



This Itird ])o.ssihly occurs (juite rarely, as far east as tlie ]\lississii)iii, as I 

 have what is said to lie its egg taken from a nest near St. Loui.s. It only 

 becomes almndant on the jilains. Mr. liidgway found it very generally dis- 

 tributed throughout his route, iidiabiting all the bu.shy localities in tlie 

 fertile districts. He regarded it as, in nearly enny respect, the e.xact 

 counterpart of the eastern ('. ci/onra. The nf)tes of the two liirds aw. so 

 exactly the same that their song would be undistinguishable but for the fact 

 that in the amo'im it is appreciably weaker, lie found tlieir nests usually 

 in the low lind)s of trees, near their extremity, and only a few feet from the 

 ground. Mr. .1. A. Allen found this sjiecies common in ( 'olorado, more; .so 

 among the foot-hills than on the jdains, Imt does not a])pear to have met 

 with it in Kansas. 



This species, Mr. Lord states, visits Vancouver I.sland and Ihitish Columbia 

 early in the summer, arriving at the island in ^lay, and rathei' later east of 

 the Cascades. The .song of the male is .said to l)e feeble, and only now and 

 then indulged in, as if to cheer his more somlire partner during inculiation. 

 The nest, he adds, is round and open at the top, composed of various mate- 

 rials worked together, lined witli hair, and placed in a low bush, usually by 

 tlie side of a stream. 



The Lazuli Finch was met with in large numbers, and many of tlieir nests 

 ])rocured, by ]\fr. Xantus, in the neiglibcu'liood of Ft. Tejon, California. Indeed, 

 it is a very al)un<lant species generally on the I'acific coa.st, and is found at 

 least as far north as Piiget Sound, during the sunnner. It arrives at San 

 Diego, according to Dr. Coo])er, about A]iril 'I'l, and remains there until Oc- 

 tober. A male bird, kejjt in a cage owr winter, was found to retain its lilue 

 plumage. It is a favorite cage-bird in California, where it is absurdly known 

 as the Indigo r>ird. During tlie summer months, according to Dr. Coo])er, 

 there is hardly a grove in the more o])en ])ortions of the State uninhabited by 

 one or more pairs of this beautiiul species. Although tlie i'emale is very .shy 

 and dilficult to obtain, except on the nest, the male is not timid, and fre- 

 quently sings his lively notes from the top of some l»ush or tree, continuing 



