The Birds of El Paso County, Colokado 589 



singing away. (E. R. W.) The song is sweet and thrush-like, 

 and heard under such conditions it sounds especially sweet. 



The food consists mostly of aquatic insects, and one killed 

 on Fountain Creek, near Colorado City, December 1, 1882, 

 had a small fish in its stomach, too much digested to be 

 identified. 



The nest is a rounded mass of the green moss from the 

 rocks along the stream, placed on or under a ledge of rock, 

 often beneath a waterfall, and always near the water. Keyser 

 mentions a nest with two young near Rainbow Falls, Ute 

 Pass, and another nest found farther up the Pass. A nest was 

 also found in South Cheyenne Canon, near the lower of the 

 Seven Falls. The nest under Rainbow Falls was occupied 

 annually for many years, until the falls were destroyed by a 

 cloudburst which washed away the rocks forming them. 

 Olive Thorne Miller saw an adult in South Cheyenne Canon 

 feeding a young bird large enough to be out of the nest. 



Near Rainbow Falls Aiken was once able to observe closely 

 an Ousel feeding in the water. He says: "As I walked down 

 the Ute Pass road I looked into the gorge below Rainbow 

 Falls and saw a Water Ousel at the shore of the stream re- 

 peatedly dip into the water and return to rest on a certain 

 stone at the water's edge. Its 'actions were unusual ; I had 

 noticed nothing like it before and was curious to observe more 

 closely. So taking advantage of the moments when the bird 

 was beneath the water I moved toward the spot and when 

 it came to the surface I stood motionless. In this way I reached 

 the stream and stood within two feet of the Ousel's perch 

 without alarming him. He merely cocked his head and looked 

 up curiously but gave me no further attention. 



The stream at this place dashes noisily over rocks and 

 boulders but on this side was a quiet pool. This was three 

 feet or more across and seven or eight inches deep with a 

 clean sandy bottom which was distinctly seen through the 

 clear water, as were also circling fragments of drift brought 



