o be angry for being
aroused at an unseasonable hour. The song is quite a complicated
performance at its best, considerably prolonged and varied, running up
and down the chromatic scale with a swing and gallop, and delivered
with great rapidity, as if the lyrist were in a hurry to have done, so
that he could get at something else.

In my rambles he was found not only in the cities of the plains (Denver,
Colorado Springs, and Pueblo), but also in many of the mountain towns
and villages visited, Leadville, over ten thousand feet skyward, being,
I believe, one of the exceptions, while Silver Plume and Graymont were
others. He does not fancy altitudes, I take it, much over eight thousand
feet. In the villages of Red Cliff and Glenwood, both beyond the
continental divide, he was the same sprightly citizen, making himself
very much at home.

Much as this finch cherishes the society of man, he is quite wary and
suspicious, and does not fancy being watched. As long as you go on your
way without seeming to notice him, he also goes his way, coming into
plain sight and chirping and singing; but just stop to watch him with
your binocular, and see how quickly he will take alarm, dart away, and
ensconce himself behind a clump of foliage, uttering a protest which
seems to say, "Why doesn't that old fellow go about his own business?"
If in some way the American house-finch could be persuaded to come east,
and the English sparrow could be given papers of extradition, the
exchange would be a relief and a benefit to the whole country.

Some idyllic days were spent in sauntering about Golden, which keeps
guard at the entrance of Clear Creek Canyon, and has tucked itself in a
beautiful valley among the foothills, which in turn stand sentinel over
it. In the village itself and along the bush-fringed border of the creek
below, as well as in the little park at its border, there were many
birds, nearly all of which have been described in the previous chapters.
However, several exceptions are worthy of note. A matted copse a mile
and a half below the town afforded a hiding-place for three young or
female redstarts, which were "playing butterfly," as usual, and chanting
their vivacious little tunes. These and several near Boulder were the
only redstarts seen in my Colorado wanderings, although Professor Cooke
says they breed sparingly on the plains, and a little more commonly in
the mountains to an altitude of eight thousand feet, while one obs