136 THI? CONDOR Vol. XVI Molothrus ater ater. Cowbird. Abundant summer resident on the prai- ries. In 1912, I found the eggs of this species in nests of the Brewer Black- bird, Chipping Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Black-headed Grosbeak, Cedar Wax- wing and Yellow Warbler. ?Iigration date: l?iay 10, 1912. Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus. Yellow-headed Blackbird. .Summer resident of rush-grown sloughs on the prairies. ?Iigration date: ?Iay 7, 1912. Agelaius phoeniceus fortis. Thick-billed Redwing. Summer resident, nesting in eat-tail sloughs on the prairies. ?Iigration date: April 15, 1912. On this date I found both sexes present, though it is usually stated that the females come later than the males. Nesting begins about the middle of l?Iay, and the first young may be found on the wing in the latter half of June. ?See fig. 45.) Sturnella neglecta. Western l?Ieadowlark. Abundant summer resident of the prairies. ?Iigration date: April 4, 1912. Nesting begins late in ?Iay, and nests with eggs may be found in the first half of June. Young out of the nest are first seen late in June. The young leave the nest when about ten days old. (See fig. 46.) Icterus bunocki. Bullock Oriole. Rare summer resident. A pair nested in Choteau in 1911, but were not seen in 1912. A few other birds were seen occasionally in the cottonwood groves. i?Iigration date: ?Iay 25, 1912. Euphagus cyanocephalus. Brewer Blackbird. Abundant summer resi- dent on the prairies. Nests most commonly in shrubby cinquefoil and wild rose bushes. ?Iigration dates: ?Iay 8, 1912, September 18, 1911. Nesting be- gins in the later half of ?Iay. A colony of these birds nests in the cinquefoil bushes near Choteau. I found nine nests there in 1912. The eggs hatch in twelve days, and the young leave the nest when ten days old. l?Iost of them are on the wing in the latter half of June. The birds do not ,raise a second brood to my knowledge, but live in flocks with their young for the remainder of the summer. Quiscalus quiscula aeneus. Bronzed Grackle. I secured a pair of these birds near Choteau, ?Iay 25, 1912. They were the only ones I observed in the region, which must be about the western limit of their range in lIontana. Grackles are not uncommon, however, a little farther south and east, at Great Falls. l?inicola enucleator montana. Rocky ?Io?mtain Pine Grosbeak. A rare summer resident of the high mountains in the Hudsonian zone. I have ob- served it only a few times. Carpodacus cassini. Cassin Purple Finch. Summer resident in the moun- tains in the Canadian and Hudsonian zones. Not common. Loxia curvirostra minor. Crossbill. A flock observed near Lubec, Jan- uary 15, 1912. Leucosticte tephrocotis tephrocotis. Gray-crowned Rosy Finch. l?Iigrant in the mountains, and occasional winter resident on the prairies. Not common, but in large flocks when seen. ?Iigration date: October 22, 1911. Leucosticte tephrocotis littoralis. Hepburn Rosy Finch. Occurs with the above, but in smaller numbers. Acanthis linaria linaria. Redpoll. Common winter visitor on the prai- ries. ?Iigration dates: October 22, 1911, and April 23, 1912. Astragalinus tristis pallidus. Western Goldfinch. Common summer resi- dent of the prairie region, nesting in cottonwood groves. l?Iigration date: ?Iay 23, 1912. Evidently does not nest until July.
