ROCKY MOUNTAIN BLUE BIRD— BOHEMIAN WAXWING. 



103 



says : " These birds are never found here in summer — the moun- 

 tains in the southwestern part of Wyoming— they come in small 

 flocks in the coldest part of winter. Their food is small seeds and 

 insects. I have found some with the crops so full of seeds as to 

 distort the birds. They become very fat, and are good eating." 



Mr. Trippe says: " During the winter I saw several flocks of 

 these birds near Central City, where they were feeding in the dry 

 gulches and about gardens, acting like Lapland Longspurs ; but 

 did not observe them elsewhere, though I looked carefully for them 

 throughout a large extent of country. During summer and au- 

 tumn the Gray-crowned Finch is common above timber-line, where 

 it breeds, ranging higher than the Titlark, and being usually found 

 in the vicinity of snow-fields and the frozen lakes near the summit 

 of the range. It is rather shy in such localities, though exceed- 

 ingly tame in winter; its flight is in undulating lines, like the 

 Crossbill's, and the only note I have heard it utter is a kind of 

 ' churr,' like the call of the Scarlet Tanager. In the latter part 

 of September small flocks, composed of one or two families, may 

 be seen together ; and still later in the season they gather into large 

 flocks. They stay above timber-line till the close of October or 

 the middle of November, being much hardier than the Titlark ; 

 and only descend when driven away by the furious winter storms. 



. . . Since the above was penned, great flocks of the Gray- 

 crowned Finch have appeared near Idaho Springs. In their habits 

 and actions they are very similar to the Plectrofhanes. They are 

 perpetually roving from place to place ; feed upon the seeds of 

 weeds and grasses ; and are never at rest for more than a moment 

 at a time, constantly whirling about in close, dense, masses, like 

 so many Longspurs." 



Rocky Mountain op Arctic Blue Bird. (Sialia arctica.) 



Fig. 8. 

 According to Coues : 



" The original specimen of this beautiful species came from Fort 

 Franklin, Great Bear Lake, as described and figured in the Fauna 

 Boreali-Americana. Dr. Richardson observes that it is merely 

 a summer visitor to the Fur Countries. At the other extreme of 

 its range, about the Mexican border, which, so far as known, it 

 does not pass, it is observed only in winter. In the mountainous 

 portions of Arizona I found it rather uncommon, and only late in 

 the autumn, or in winter ; I do not think it breeds in the vicinity 

 of Fort Whipple, though probably it does so in the higher moun- 

 tains not far distant. Dr. Cooper noticed its occurrence in num- 

 bers about San Diego, in the severe winter of 1861-62 ; they re- 

 mained until February, and suddenly disappeared. « They were 

 at that time,' he continues, ' sitting perched on the low weeds and 

 bushes about the plains, often quite a flock together, and some con- 

 stantly hovering like blue butterflies over the grass, at a height 

 often of fifty feet, on the watch for insects.' This accords perfectly 

 with my own observations. The same naturalist found the birds 

 numerous, with lately fledged young, about Lake Tahoe and the 

 summits of the Sierra Nevada, at an elevation of over 6,000 feet. 

 Colonel McCall speaks of their breeding as far south as Santa Fe, 

 New Mexico, in boxes provided for them, just like our eastern 

 species. Mr. Holden found it using old Woodpecker holes, and, 

 in one instance, four eggs were deposited in an old car-wheel. 

 The habits of all the species of Sialia are essentially similar, how- 

 ever differently they may be carried out in detail according to cir- 

 cumstances. The eggs of all are alike, pale blue in color, and 

 can not be distinguished with any certainty. Those of the present 

 species measure 0.90 to 0.95 in length by about 0.70 in breadth, 

 being thus rather larger than those of S. sialis, which average 

 about 0.85 by 0.68." 



Bohemian Waxwing, Waxen Chatterer, Waxwing, or Common Silk-taH. 



(Ampelis garrulus^) 



Fig. 9. 



This species has a wide distribution over the globe. It shows 

 quite a preference for the colder portions of the whole northern 

 hemisphere. In the Northern States, in winter, stragglers are oc- 

 casionally met with, and at times they are to be seen gathered in 

 large flocks. 



" The Common Silk-tail is an inhabitant both of Northern Eu- 

 rope and of North America,- but is found only occasionally in some 

 parts of Asia, being replaced in that continent by its Japanese con- 

 gener, the Bombycillafhoenicoftera, . . . (while in America 

 the Waxwing is more numerously met with). In the northern 

 portions of Europe, birch and pine forests constitute its favorite re- 

 treats, and these it seldom quits, except when driven by unusual 

 severity of weather, or by heavy falls of snow, to seek refuge in 

 more southern provinces. Even in Russia, Poland, and Southern 

 Scandinavia it is constantly to be seen throughout the entire win- 

 ter ; indeed, so rarely does it wander to more southern latitudes 

 that in Germany it is popularly supposed to make its appearance 

 once in seven years. On the occasion of these rare migrations, the 

 Silk-tails keep together in large flocks, and remain in any place 

 that affords them suitable food until the supply is exhausted. Like 

 most other members of the feathered creation inhabiting extreme 

 climates, these birds are heavy and indolent, rarely exerting them- 

 selves except to satisfy their hunger, and appearing unwilling to 

 move even to a short distance from their usual haunts. With their 

 companions they live in uninterrupted harmony, and during their 

 migrations testify no fear of man, frequently coming down to seek 

 for food in the villages and towns they pass over, without appar- 

 ently regarding the noisy bustle of the streets. Even during their 

 winter journeyings they settle frequently, and pass the entire day 

 indolently perching in crowds upon the trees, remaining almost 

 motionless for some hours together, only descending in the morning 

 and evening to procure berries, in search of which they climb from 

 branch to branch with considerable dexterity. Their flight is light 

 and graceful, being effected by ver}r rapid strokes of the wings. 

 Upon the ground they move with difficulty, and rarely alight upon 

 its surface, except when in search of water. Their call-note is a 

 hissing, twittering sound, very similar to that produced by blowing 

 down the barrel of a key. The song, though monotonous and 

 gentle, is uttered by both sexes with so much energy and expres- 

 sion as to produce a pleasing effect, and may be generally heard 

 throughout the entire year. Insects unquestionably constitute the 

 principal food of the Waxwing during the warmer months, but in 

 winter the}' subsist mainly upon various kinds of berries. So vo- 

 racious is this species that, according to Naumann, it will devour 

 an amount of food equal to the weight of its own body in the course 

 of twenty-four hours. When caged, it sits all day close to its eat- 

 ing trough, alternately gorging, digesting, and sleeping, without 

 intermission. Until the last few years we were entirely without 

 particulars as to the incubation of the Waxwing, and have to thank 

 Wolley for the first account of the nest and eggs. This gentleman, 

 who visited Lapland in 1857, determined not to return to England 

 until he had procured the long-desired treasure, and, after great 

 trouble and expense, succeeded in collecting no fewer than six 

 hundred eggs. All the nests discovered were deeply ensconced 

 among the boughs of pine trees, at no great height from the 

 ground ; their walls were principally formed of dry twigs and 

 scraps from the surrounding branches ; the central cavity was wide, 

 deep, and lined with blades of grass and feathers. The brood 

 consists of from four to seven, but usually of five eggs, which are 

 laid about the middle of June ; the shell is bluish or purplish-white, 

 sparsely sprinkled with brown, black, or violet spots and streaks, 

 some of which take the form of a wreath at the broad end. The 



