Nov., 1907 SOME BIRDS OF SOUTHWEST COIvORADO 195 



Stayed around Ft. lyCwis during the nesting season, the males singing frequently 

 from dense oak brush on the hillside. When I first heard one I thought a pro- 

 gressive grosbeak had evolved a better song; and then I wondered why he was not 

 on top of the oaks instead of in the center. A careful scrutiny revealed the owner 

 of the lay, but failed to find anything that had been laid. 



Toxostoma rufum. Brown Thrasher. Mr. Peterson told me a pair of these 

 birds nested in a gooseberry bush near his house in the spring of 1904. 



Salpinctes obsoletus. Rock Wren. Seen occasionally. A pair nested under 

 a plank sidewalk near the school house at Ft. L,ewis. 



Catherpes mexicanus conspersus. Canyon Wren. One seen early in the 

 morning on top of the barn. 



Thryomanes bewickii leucogaster. Baird Wren. A few noticed during the 

 breeding season. 



Certhia familiaris montana. Rocky Mountain Creeper. A pair seen during a 

 snow storm in January, 1906, and a pair near the same spot in January, 1907. 



Sitta carolinensis aculeata. Slender-billed Nuthatch. Common, breeding 

 on the pine-covered mesas. 



Sitta pygmaea. Pigmy Nuthatch. Abundant. Many nesting near the school 

 in dead pine trees. Three nests noted were built just below and at one side of 

 deserted woodpecker holes occupied by bluebirds' — only 8 inches between the door- 

 ways. It may have been for the companionship and protection afforded by the 

 bluebirds, but I am inclined to think the nuthatch had confidence in the wood- 

 pecker's judgment in selecting a good place to dig. A feature of the nuthatches' 

 nests was the fact that usually the hole after going in straight, turned to the right 

 of the entrance before descending. 



Parus inornatus griseus. Gray Titmouse. One pair seen in April. Mr. 

 Warren reports them as seen at Coventry in April. 



Parus atricapillus septentrionalis. I^ong-tailed Chickadee. A few breeding in 

 the neighborhood. 



Parus gambeli. Mountain Chickadee. Breeding abundantly. 



Psaltriparus plumbeus. Lead-colored Bush-tit. Mr. Warren reports them at 

 Coventry in April. 



Regulus calendula. Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Several seen in spring. 



Myadestes townsendi. Townsend Solitaire. Several noticed at different times 

 of the year. 



Hylocichia guttata auduboni. Audubon Hermit Thrush. Found nesting in the 

 lya Plata Mountains in July, at 10,000 feet altitude. Seen in spring along the 

 river bottom. 



Merula migratoria propinqua. Western Robin. Abundant. Nesting from 

 7,000 to 10,000 feet. Some must spend the winter as I saw one on January 30, 

 within a mile of Ft. lycwis, and saw others in January in Montezuma County. 



Sialia mexicana bairdi. Chestnut-backed Bluebird. Several nesting near Ft. 

 lycwis among the pines. 



Sialia arctica. Mountain Bluebird. Most abundant of the bluebirds. 

 Nested about buildings and in bird boxes, while the two other species kept to the 

 pines. A pair, the female having but one leg, raised broods in the cornice of 

 one of the buildings, and I was told they had occupied the same place for at least 

 the two seasons previous. One bird box I put up had two families started in it in 

 one season. 



Banning, California, 



