May, 1914 BIRDS OF NORTHERN MONTANA 135 commences about the middle of June, the eggs hatch in about. fourteen days, aud the young are on the wing in the latter half of July. Empidona?x h?Lmmondi. Hammond Flycatcher. Rare summer resident in the mountains. Seen on the West Fork of the Sun River August 12, 1912. Empidona?x wrighti. Wright Flycatcher. Common summer resident in the mountains below 6000 feet. Abundant along the foothills. 0tocoris alpestris ?rcticola. Pallid Horned Lark. Winter visitor on the prairie benches. Occurs in large flocks with Snow Buntings and Alaska Longspurs. Last seen in spring on March 10, 1912. 0tocoris alp?tris leucola?ma. Desert Horned Lark. Abundant summer resident on the prairie benches. A few winter with the above species. The returning flocks of this bird are usually the first sign of spring. Migration dates: March 10, 1912, 5?areh 3, 1918. Young are first seen on the wing in the latter half of June, and again in August, which leads me to believe that there are two broods, one commencing early in May, and the second in July. Pica pica hudsonia. Magpie. Abundant permanent resident on the prairies, nesting in cotton- wood groves and willow thickets. Occasionally found in the moun- tains in fall, but does not nest there. Nesting begins in April. In 1912 I found the first eggs April 7, and also took a set of fresh eggs May 26. Young are first seen out of the nest about June 1. In the winter, in this re- gion, magpies frequently make use of their last year's nests as a shelter from the heavy winds. Cyanocitta stelleri annectens. Black-headed Jay. Permanent resident in the mountains. Not common. Perisoreus canadensis capi- Fig. 44. NEST AND EGOS OF SPOTTED SAND- PIPER. ? talis/ Rocky Mountain Jay. Permanent resident in the mountains. Some- what less abundant than in southern Montana. Corvus coraJr principalis. Northern Raven. Permanent resident in the mountains. Rare in most places, but fairly frequent in the vicinity of Lubec, along the southern border of the Glacier National Park. Corvus brachyrhynchos hesperis. Western Crow. Common summer resi- ('lent, nesting in cottonwood groves and willow thickets, in the prairies. Nest- ing commences about the middle of May, and young are on the wing in the latter half of June. Migration date: April 2, 1912. Occurs rarely in winter. Nucifraga columbiana. Clarke Nutcracker. Abundant permanent resi- dent in the mountains. Dolichonyx oryzivorus. Bobolink. Summer resident in the wet meadows of the prairie region. Abundant locally. Said to be increasing in numbers. Migration date: May 25, 1912.
