402 Birds of Colorado 
with white; iris brown, upper mandible dusky, lower greyish-blue, 
feet dark horn. Length 6-80; wing 3-50; tail 2-95; culmen -67; 
tarsus -80. 
The female is tawny-brown above, with a slight wash of blue on the 
rump, below paler brown or buffy, darkest on the breast—wing 3-35 ; 
a very young female is more dusky and shows narrow dark streaks 
below, while immature males show intermediate stages between adult 
females and males, gradually assuming the latter’s plumage. 
Distribution.—Breeding from California and Nebraska southwards 
to the tableland of Mexico ; in winter the lower parts of Mexico and 
Central America to southern Costa Rica. 
The Western Blue Grosbeak is a somewhat uncommon and locally 
distributed summer resident in Colorado, found most commonly in 
the south-eastern part of the State, though it has been taken as far 
north as Altona in Boulder co. (Felger & Dille) and Wray in Yuma co., 
where it is not uncommon and breeds (Smith). It does not enter the 
mountains or indeed extend to a higher level than about 6,000 feet, 
nor has it been recorded at all from the west side of the continental 
Divide. It arrives rather late about the end of May, and leaves again 
in early September. Additional localities are: Morrison in Jefferson 
co. (Smith apud Cooke) ; El Paso and Lincoln cos. (Aiken) ; Pueblo co. 
(Beckham), and Fort Lyon (Thorne apud Cooke). 
Habits. Western Blue Grosbeaks are generally found 
along the banks of streams where there are some trees 
and bushes. They are always rather local. They feed 
chiefly on seeds and buds, crushing the larger grains 
with their stout bills. The males sing quite sweetly 
in the breeding season, but are not specially highly rated 
in this respect. 
P. L. Jones found four nests near Beulah in Pueblo 
co. in the summer of 1897, but gives no details. Goss 
describes a nest taken near Wallace in Kansas, on June 
16th, as being built about seven feet from the ground 
in a willow tree ; it was composed of the inner bark of 
a dead cotton-wood, mixed with leaves and bits of paper 
and lined with fine rootlets; it contained three eggs, 
blueish-white in colour, and unmarked ; they measured 
°85 xX *66. 
