The Oregon Juncoes 









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Taken in Modoc County Photo bv the Author 



A FULL CRADLE 



guided by some thought of seclusion or protection in their choice of nesting 

 sites. Steep hillsides or little banks are, therefore, favorite places, for 

 here the bird may excavate a cool grotto in the earth, and allow the 

 drapery of the hillside, — mosses and running vines, to festoon and guard 

 the approaches. In the foothills the upper banks of road-cuttings are 

 frequently occupied, while in mountain meadows I have seen haystacks 

 in whose disheveled sides the Juncoes sheltered their young. In default 

 of suitable banks the birds will trust themselves to the density of vege- 

 tation in unmowed orchards, weed-lots, and meadows. Brush-piles 

 afford coveted shelter, as well as small patches of mountain sage, a shaded 

 stretch of heather, or even an accumulation of pine needles upon the 

 ground. Once I found a bird which occupied a carefully chosen fern 

 arbor in the midst of a collection of whitened bones, evidently the mortal 

 remains of a defunct horse. The situation was delightfully gruesome, 

 and, touched no doubt with vanity, the owner sat for her portrait at 

 four feet, a la Bernhardt. 



Juncoes keep very quiet during the nesting season until disturbed, 



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