Sept., 1908 UNUSUAL NKvSTlXG UOCAUITY OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN NUTHATCH 



195 



each time bringing food of some kind, at least twenty of which were millers. Only 

 once or twice out of the twenty-seven times did she appear to feed the young 

 by regurgitation. 



Usually when alighting upon the home tree she uttered a rolling note — "era, 

 era, era" — rapidly repeated, and instantly several wide open mouths appeared at 

 the entrance of the nest cavity, each begging for the expected morsel. 



A day or two later the young were taken from the nest to be photographed. 

 Instead of being interested in posing before the magic camera, they seemed more 

 inclined to hide their faces in the underbrush. Perhaps they were ashamed be- 

 cause of not being thoroly dressed. There were five young and a dead bird in 

 the nest. 



On attempting to place them on a vertical tree trunk thej^ either could not or 

 would not (perhaps both) cling to the tree as their parents do. The j'oung were 

 replaced in the nest and upon our return two days later we found they had flown. 

 The nest was chiefly composed of fine rabbit hair, placed in a cavity of irregular 

 shape and about six inches deep, in a scrubby willow about six feet from the 

 ground. The surrounding country was open wooded pasture, but the ground im- 

 mediately surrounding the tree was slightly swampy. This nest was located on 



BROOD OF YOUNG ROCKY MOXTNTAIN NUTHATCHES 



the south branch of the Platte River near lyittleton, and about ten miles south of 

 Denver, Colorado, at an elevation of about 5370 feet. 



[Note. — The above observations of Mr. Richards demonstrate an important 

 fact in a rather unusual faunal condition existing along the South Platte River for 

 several miles below the point where it issues from the mountains. 



This river which is the main stream draining a large portion of the mountain- 

 ous central part of the State, flows thru a deep canyon for many miles before it 

 reaches the plains region, and from the mouth of the canyon for a distance of fully 

 fifteen miles out into a typical prairie (Upper Sonoran) country there is a distinct 

 sprinkling of mountain and foothill forms, both animal and vegetable. Thus, be- 

 side the two typically mountain birds mentioned above, the Broad-tailed Humming- 

 bird, lycwis Woodpecker, and Violet-green Swallow nest here, at an altitude fully 

 1500 feet below what is ordinarily considered the lower limit of their breeding range. 



Among the mammals, the beaver is very abundant, even to the very limits of 

 the City of Denver; the Busy Chipmunk {E. a. operariiis) is common, fully 1100 

 feet lower than the lowest records; while bobcats (probably L. uinta) are more or 

 less common during the winter; and a few deer have been seen well out onto 

 the prairie. 



