34 



Sierra Club Bulletin. 



THE DISCOVERY OF THE NEST AND EGGS 

 OF THE GRAY-CROWNED LEUCOSTICTE. 



By Milton S. Ray. 



Photographs by Oluf J. Heinemann. 



[An extract republished from The Condor by courtesy of the editor, Mr. 

 Joseph Grinnell, and the author. — Editor.] 



After baffling scores of searching oologists during the 

 long period since the bird was first described by Swain- 

 son, in 1 83 1, the nest and eggs of the gray-crowned 

 leucosticte (Leucosticte tephrocotis tephrocotis) have at 

 last been brought to light. The place of discovery is 

 Pyramid Peak, a lofty mountain of the great Sierran 

 chain, in the eastern portion of Eldorado County, Cali- 

 fornia. And now, a nest having at last been found, the 

 reason why the small army of collectors have searched 

 in vain becomes more apparent, the nests being either 

 invisible or inaccessible, probably as a rule both. 



The rosy finch, as some would prefer to call the leucos- 

 ticte, is ever active either of foot or wing, among the 

 rocks, along the cliffs or while feeding on stranded in- 

 sects upon the snow. Endowed by nature to combat 

 the fierce gales which prevail almost continually in these 

 high altitudes, this bird possesses great power in its 

 broad stretch of wing. The flight is rapid, in long, grace- 

 ful, sweeping curves^ and the birds mount hundreds of 

 feet even against the strong headwinds without much 

 apparent effort. From the edge of the chasm we noticed 

 a number of birds fly to crevices in the sheer walls of 

 granite on the west side of Pyramid ; but as it would have 

 been utterly impossible to follow them we contented our- 

 selves with watching those in more accessible situations. 



The males are certainly beautiful examples of bird 

 life, in their brilliant colorings of rich chestnut brown, 

 streaked on the back with dusky and edged on the wing- 

 and tail-coverts with light scarlet. The forehead and 



