ssible another
tour among the Colorado mountains. This time he made Denver, instead of
Colorado Springs, the centre of operations; nor did he go alone, his
companion being an active boy of fourteen who has a penchant for
Butterflies, while that of the writer, as need scarcely be said, is for
the Birds--in our estimation, the two cardinal B's of the English
language. Imagine two inveterate ramblers, then, with two such
enchanting hobbies, set loose on the Colorado plains and in the
mountains, with the prospect of a month of uninterrupted indulgence in
their manias!

In the account of my first visit, most of the species met with were
described in detail both as to their habits and personal appearance. In
the present record no such minutiae will be necessary so far as the same
species were observed, and therefore the chief objects of the following
chapters will be, first, to note the diversities in the avian fauna of
the two regions; second, to give special attention to such birds as
either were not seen in my first visit or were for some cause partly
overlooked; and, third, to trace the peculiar transitions in bird life
in passing from the plains about Denver to the crest of Gray's Peak,
including jaunts to several other localities.

In my rambles in the neighborhood of Denver only a few species not
previously described were observed, and yet there were some noteworthy
points of difference in the avi-fauna of the two latitudes, which are
only about seventy-five miles apart. It will perhaps be remembered that,
in the vicinity of Colorado Springs and Manitou, the pretty lazuli
buntings were quite rare and exceedingly shy, only two or three
individuals having been seen. The reverse was the case in the suburbs of
Denver and on the irrigated plains between that city and the mountains,
and also in the neighborhood of Boulder, where in all suitable haunts
the lazulis were constantly at my elbow, lavish enough of their pert
little melodies to satisfy the most exacting, and almost as familiar and
approachable as the indigo-birds of the East. It is possible that, for
the most part, the blue-coated beauties prefer a more northern latitude
than Colorado Springs for the breeding season.

At the latter place I failed to find the burrowing owl, although there
can be little doubt of his presence there, especially out on the
plains. Not far from Denver one of these uncanny, sepulchral birds was
seen, having been frightened from her tun