Even in the temperate zones, where sober colors are the J 
usual fashion, she will at times dress an entire bird in gay 
disregard of the dark climate, while often, amidst brown, — 
black, or gray plumage will be seen sun-scorched feathers. : 
Among such birds is one species, which may be found — 
in cold winter seasons in any part of the Northwestern 4 
‘section, that they choose to visit, from the tops of the © 
Rocky Mountains to the shores of the Pacific Ocean, when — 
conditions have suited them. At such times a nature lover © 
ean scarcely overlook them, for they keep up a noisy con- q 
versation in the treetops of city parks, telling a whole neigh- 4 
borhood that the Western Evening Grosbeak is there. To | 
ears that know the sounds of the country, the calls will — 
resemble the cries of frightened little chickens that have 
lost the old hen which helps them scratch for a living, © 
while others will hear only wild, short, shrill whistles, | 
mingled with the clicking of big bills over the hard seed ~ 
food that they like best. a 
These birds are about the ieneth of an Oregon Towhee, “ 
but they have a much shorter tail, a more chunky body, and © 
a beak that will astonish a beholder from its large size and — 
yellowish green color. They usually travel in flocks, vary- — 
ing in number from a dozen to two or three dozen, and when _ 
once they have lit upon a tree, the branches sway with their — 
moving, chattering burden. The flock may be investigating 
the cones of the pine trees of Spokane, or the firs of Belling- | 
ham, in Washington, or they may be cracking the winged — 
seeds of the maples in Portland, Oregon, for they, too, are © 
fond of city life; but, wherever seen, they are so much in © 
evidence that tales about. them are even put in the daily — 
papers. 
| A bird dent tells the a that once, when she had _ 
_ gone to a mountain village in the Cascade Range to interest — 
more people in birds, she told her audience about this olive- 
green creature, which is so brilliantly trimmed with yellow, | 
old gold, black, and white as to make it conspicuous in the © 
150 
