210 



LAND BIRDS 



California, Breeding Range: Locally in the upper Boreal along the 

 Sierra Nevada from Mt. Shasta south to Mt. Whitney. 



Breeding Season : June. 



Nest : Carelessly arranged on a ledge of a bluff, or in a small crevice ; 

 composed of wild parsnip stalks, coarse grass stems, and lined with 

 finer grasses. 



Eggs: 4 or 5 ; white. Size 0.97 X 0.67. 



Where the range of the Pipilo ends that of the Leucos- 

 ticte begins. Far above the timber line, amid a wilder- 

 ness of snow-clad peaks these Alpine 

 dwellers have their home. Only the 

 severest storms of winter are able to 

 drive them to the shelter of the 

 forest. Flying high over the top- 

 most peak of the range, searching in 

 the snow for beetles and bugs that 

 kind Providence sends there for 

 their special nourishment, they lead 

 charmed lives. Even bumblebees and 

 butterflies are on their menu, coming 

 ^ as mysteriously as do the birds them- 

 selves. When storms swirl over the 

 summit, they crowd together in the shelter 

 of a rock or a snowbank. When the sun 

 comes out again, they are off for a frolic 

 over the chasms and gulches, or a dip in 

 the icy water of the glacial lake. They 

 are constantly in motion,, and their 

 clear, low "churr" is the embodi- 

 ment of gayety. . Somewhat shy 

 during the breeding season, as soon 



VN 



524. Gray- 

 crowned 



Leucosticte. 



" Searching in the snow 

 for beetles and bugs." 



