In Colorado and Arizona the Lazuli Painted Finch, as it is called,
is common, while in California it is very abundant, being, in fact,
generally distributed throughout the west, and along the Pacific Coast
it is found as far north as Puget Sound, during the summer. Davie says
it replaces the Indigo Bunting, (See BIRDS, Vol. I, page 174,) from the
Plains to the Pacific, being found in all suitable localities. The nest
is usually built in a bush or in the lower limbs of trees, a few feet
from the ground. Fine strips of bark, small twigs, grasses, and hair are
used in preparing it for the four tiny, light bluish-green eggs, which
readily fade when exposed to light. The eggs so closely resemble those
of the Bluebird as not to be distinguishable with certainty. The nest is
an inartistic one for a bird of gay plumage.
From Florence A. Merriam's charming book, "A-Birding on a Bronco," we
select a description of the pretty manners of this attractive bird. She
says:
"While waiting for the Woodpeckers, one day, I saw a small brownish
bird flying busily back and forth to some green weeds. She was joined
by her mate, a handsome blue Lazuli Bunting, even more beautiful than our
lovely Indigo, and he flew beside her full of life and joy. He lit on
the side of a cockle stem, and on the instant caught sight of me. Alas!
he seemed suddenly turned to stone. He held onto that stalk as if his
little legs had been bars of iron and I a devouring monster. When he had
collected his wits enough to fly off, instead of the careless gay flight
with which he had come out through the open air, he timidly kept low
within the cockle field, making a circuitous way through the high
stalks. He could be afraid of me if he liked, I thought, for after a
certain amount of suspicion, an innocent person gets resentful; at any
rate I was going to see that nest. Creeping up cautiously when the
mother bird was away, so as not to scare her, and carefully parting the
mallows, I looked in. Yes, there it was, a beautiful little sage-green
nest of old grass laid in a coil. I felt as pleased as if having a right
to share the family happiness. After that I watched the small worker
gather material with new interest, knowing where she was going to put
it. She worked fast, but did not take the first thing she found, by any
means. With a flit of the wing she went in nervous haste from cockle to
cockle, looking eagerly about her. Jumping down to the ground, she
picked up a bit of grass, threw it down dissatisfied, and turned away
like a person looking for something. At last she lit on the side of a
thistle, and tweaking out a fibre, flew with it to the nest.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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