258 NORTH AMEKIC.VX IMUDS. 



'I'lic I'lKxl of this liinl, tit llio tiiiu; wlicii Di. Xowliciry visited its haunts, 

 (•(iiisislcd exclusively of the seeds dI' the ytdlow iiiiie {]'. iiimtlrninti), in dis- 

 li)dj;in;,' which Irdiu the nines the hird displays j^reat dexlerily. iSuth 

 ^raxiiiiiliaii's .lay and Stellei's .lay were, at that time, leedin^ on the same 

 seeds, lint not sn excliisivfly. 



IM-. Siickley iiiitainetl a s|ieeinu'n dl' this Iiiid as i'ar east as Milk Itivei', in 

 N'eliraska, aluMit twd hiimlied miles east ol" the liiicky Miuintains. 



In cKissiiin- the Cascaile Mimntains, in l«^."i;'., I)r. ('(Miper Iniind Ihest; liirds 

 i|uile aliundant (in \W'. hanks nf tiie ^'akima itivcr, and IVnm tliencit north 

 wherever there were trees of tiie long-leaved liiiie, the seeds of which were 

 its |irinci|ial lood. ( )ii returning to Vancouver during the severe cold weather 

 of the following -lanuarv, these hirds a]i]ieared there in considerahle num- 

 hers. At no <ither season of the year has la; met with them west of the 

 Cascade .Mountains, and helieves these migrations westward are only made 

 in the severest weather. Tliey extend eastward throughout Washington Ter- 

 ritory, as Dr. Cooiier has siiot them at Fort Laranue, and met with a strag- 

 gling jiair (!ven as far castas Fort Kearney. J )r. C'oo]ier has never known 

 the.se birds to eat anything except .seeds and berries. They rarely desceml to 

 the ground, and ntiver frecjueiit river-hanks, or other places, for lish or car- 

 rion. They may he sci'U on tiic tojis of trees extracting seeds from cones, 

 hanging head downwanls, like a Chickadee. Dr. Cooper has observed this 

 bird pecking at dead liark, in quest of insects. When i'eeding they are very 

 shy, flying otf, if approached, to a great di.stance before alighting. They are 

 not known to visit the Coast Mountains south of Sau Francisco, but abound 

 in the Koi-ky ^[ountains tin-oughout our limit.s. 



Ml'. .1. K. Lord notes the arrival of this s[)ecies at F'ort Colville, in May, 

 in large Hocks. They were hojiiiing busily from Itranch to branch, amidst 

 pine-trees. 



The .statement made to Wilson that this species fre([uents rivers and sea- 

 shores, and his infeience that its formidable claw.s' indicated that they feed 

 on living animals, is controverted by Mi'. Lord. They never frccpient river- 

 banks, never by any chance, eat iisli, and never capture any living tiling. 

 Their haliits are strictly arboreal, and their food the seeds of ])ine-trees. 

 These noisy seed-hunters u.se their formidalde claws to enable them to liang 

 on to till- pine cones while they .are extracting the seed, which they are 

 obliged to get out from under scaly (,'overings. For this nature has given 

 them feet and claws that serve the jiurpose of hands, and a powerful bill, like 

 a small crowbar. The cone must be steadied when they pry it o])eii, or it 

 would snap and fall. One foot clasjis it, and the powerful claws hold it 

 firmly. The other foot, encircling a branch, sujijTOrts the bird in every ])os- 

 sible position, the long grasping claws being ecjual to any emergency. The 

 cone is thus fixed, and the seeds are forced out from under the scales. Mr. 

 Lord collected a large packet of seeds of the Ahics doiKjlusai from the crops 

 of these birds. 



