Western Bird Guide: Birds of the Rockies and West to the Pacific

by Charles K. Reed

BROWN-CAPPED ROSY FINCH.

526. Leucosticte australis. 6½ inches.

These are to be found more southerly in the Rocky Mountains than any of the others, breeding in Colorado, and wintering in New Mexico. Their nesting habits and eggs are the same. Most of this family keep above the timber line during the summer, and only come down into the valleys as the heavy snow comes.

HOARY REDPOLL.

527a. Acanthis hornemanni exilipes. 5 inches.

These pretty little birds, with their caps of bright crimson and rosy breasts, are birds of the coldest regions, breeding in the Arctic regions, and wintering to the northern parts of the United States.

Nest.—They build very large nests, mostly of small sticks and grass, and lined with fine grass and feathers, which are placed usually within a foot or two of the ground in scrub bushes. Their three to five eggs are a light bluish green, with specks of brown, mostly about the larger end (.65 × .50).

REDPOLL.

528. Acanthis linaria. 5 inches.