July, 1908 ANNOTATED TIST OF THE BIRDv's OF MEvSA COUNTY, COLORADO 



171 



casionally seen during the early fall. Breeds thruout May and June, and performs 

 a very slight, if any, vertical migration. 



[l^oxia curvirostra stricklandi. Mexican Crossbill. Carter found this l:)ird breeding at 

 Breckenridge and judging from its established range it is not unreasonable to expect to find it a 

 regular resident, tho at all times rare.] 



Leucosticte australis. Brown-capped L^eucosticte. Winter resident. There 

 does not appear to be any locality of sufficient altitude within the County bounda- 

 ries to attract these birds during the summer. My only record is that of a large 

 flock observed March 12, 1902, five miles southeast of DeBeque at about 5500 feet. 



[Acanthis linaria. Redpoll. Another common bird whose absence from this list is hard 

 to explain. Undoubtedly occurs regularly in winter and prol)ably in some abundance at times.] 



Astragalinus tristis pallidus. Western Goldfinch. Prof. Cooke says a few 

 were seen November 11, 1895, by A. H. Howell at Grand Junction. There is no 

 further information at hand regarding this bird. 



Astragalinus psaltria. Ar- 

 kansas Goldfinch. Summer 

 resident, not uncommon. A 

 late arrival and a late breeder, 

 fresh eggs usually being found 

 in July. More common in 

 the lower portions of the 

 County than higher up. Prof. 

 W. W. Cooke mentions this 

 form as breeding at Glen wood 

 Springs, as it undoubtedly 

 does in more or less abundance 

 all along the Grand River from 

 that point on down to the 

 Utah line. 



Spinas pinus. Pine Siskin. 

 Resident, common. One of 

 the commonest winter birds 

 up to at least 7000 feet feeding 

 in large flocks and frequent- 

 ing the cultivated sections. 

 F-^arly in April the flocks break 

 up and the birds retire to the 

 higher mountains to breed. 

 During the summer months 

 they are very seldom met with. 

 Junction, October 3. 



Passer domesticus. English Sparrow. Resident, common. "Miss Myra Eg- 

 gleston reports that they reached Grand Junction during the fall of 1899, a flock 

 of a dozen being seen. This is the first record for Colorado west of the range, and 

 there is nothing to indicate whether these birds reached Grand Junction from 

 eastern Colorado or have come eastward from Utah. The distance is less from 

 where they occur in Utah, and the mountain passes much lower." (Cooke's 

 Birds of Colorado, 2nd App.) They first arrived in Plateau Valley during the fall 

 of 1904 and in June, 1905, a nest with incubated eggs was destroyed. Since that 

 time they have steadily increased in numbers. 



Pooecetes gramineus confinis. Western Vesper Sparrow. Summer resident. 



NEST OI^* THK WESTERN SAVANNA SPARROW IN DENSE 



HAY field; mesa county 

 Mr. E. R. Warren reports a flock from Grand 



