Birds of the RockiesKeyser, Leander S. (Leander Sylvester)
History
Birds of the Rockies
Keyser, Leander S. (Leander Sylvester)
Birds; Birds -- Colorado
The presence of practically the same avian fauna on both sides of the
great range suggests some speculations as to their movements in the
migrating season. Do those on the western side of the mountains travel
over the towering summits from the eastern plains? Or do they come up
from their southern winter homes by way of the valleys and plains west
of the range? Undoubtedly the latter is the correct surmise, for there
were birds at Glenwood that are never known to ascend far into the
mountains, and should they attempt to cross the Divide in the early
spring, they would surely perish in the intense cold of those elevated
regions, where snow often falls even in June, July, and August. One can
easily imagine some of the eastern and western residents meeting in the
autumn on the plains at the southern extremity of the mountain range,
dwelling together in some southern locality throughout the winter, and
then, when spring approaches, taking their separate routes, part going
east and part west of the range, for their breeding haunts in the North.
More than likely they do not meet again until the following autumn.
There are individuals, doubtless, that never catch a glimpse of the
western side of the great American watershed, while others are deprived
of the privilege of looking upon the majestic panoramas of the eastern
side.
What has just been said applies, of course, only to those species that
prefer to dwell in the lower altitudes. There are other species that
find habitats to their taste in the most elevated localities, ranging
at will in the summer time over the bald summits in the regions of
perpetual snow. Among these may be mentioned the brown-capped
leucostictes, the American pipits, the ravens, and Brewer's blackbirds.
These species will often have the privilege of looking upon the scenery
on both sides of the range, and you and I can scarcely repress a feeling
of envy when we think of their happy freedom, and their frequent
opportunities to go sightseeing.
While taking an early morning stroll along one of the streets of
Glenwood, I caught sight of a new member of the phoebe family, its
reddish breast and sides differentiating it from the familiar phoebe
of the East. Afterwards I identified it as Say's phoebe, a distinctly
western species. Its habits are like those of its eastern relative. A
pair of Say's phoebes had placed their nest on a beam of a veranda,
near the roof, where they could be seen carrying food to their young. My
notes say nothing of their singing a tune or even uttering a chirp. This
was my first observation of Say's phoebe, although, as will be seen, I
subsequently saw one under somewhat peculiar circumstances.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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