296 BULLETIN UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA. 



makes it worthy of mention. It was in the swampy area west of the 

 Station grounds, bordering the harbor. Instead of being situated near 

 the ground, it was six and one-half feet above, in an upright crotch of an 

 oblique thorny sapling. The nest was typical of the willow thrush In 

 construction, but the site was so unusual in my experience that I col- 

 lected the owner for complete identification. It was a bulky structure, 

 made of coarse weed-stems, pine needles, and bark, lined with fine black 

 rootlets. A large piece of green leaf, which had probably fallen into 

 the nest, had been incorporated into the lining. The cavity averaged two 

 and three-fourths inches in diameter, two inches deep. The eggs were un- 

 spotted, of the greenish-blue color characteristic of this species. 



One nest of the long-tailed chickadee, Parus atricapillus septentrion- 

 alis, was found. It was at the head of Swan lake, on June 6, at which 

 date the eggs were about ready to hatch. The site was an old cavity 

 made by a small woodpecker or the owner, in an old decayed birch stump 

 in the swampy margin of the lake. The nest was a soft bed of rabbit fur. 

 There were seven eggs in the nest. 



On July 1, a nest of Parkman's wren. Troglodytes aedon parkmanii, 

 was examined. It was on the tract known as the "Big Burn," on the 

 Mission slopes southeast of the Station, in a cavity made by a woodpecker 

 in a decayed stump. The nest was made of dead twigs for a founda- 

 tion, weed-fibers, soft feathers, and pieces of sloughed snake skin. There 

 were two fresh eggs in this nest. 



The catbird, Galeoscoptes carol inensis, nests very commonly in the 

 region about Daphnia Pond. On July 7, I found my first nest of this 

 species containing five eggs. One of these was infertile, and the otherC 

 were quite advanced in incubation. The catbird prolongs its nesting 

 season, though later sets of eggs contain less than the regular complement 

 of four of earlier nesting. On July 16, we noted a nest containing three 

 eggs, and on July 22 another nest was found with three eggs. All of 

 these nests were in the low buckbrush growing so plentifully on the 

 ridges near the Station. 



A nest of the cedar waxwing, Ampelis cedrorum, seemed to indicate 

 irregular habits of nidification of this species. The nest was noticed 

 on June 27. It was situated in a fir in the edge of the Station grounds, 

 near the top of the tree and about twelve feet from the ground. It was 

 made on horizontal branches, against the main stem, from which site it 

 was removed when first noticed, examined, and replaced to wait for later 

 examination. It then contained three eggs. On June 30, it contained 

 four eggs. On July 1, when the eggs, were further examined, three of 

 them were incubated very noticeably beyond the fourth, a condition show- 

 ing that the eggs were not deposited on successive days, or that the three 

 eggs had been incubated several days longer than the fourth. 



The western vesper sparrow, Poocaetes gramineus confinis, nests 

 abundantly near the shore of Flathead lake. In the meadow opposite to 

 the store at Poison, five nests were found, and another nest was noted just 

 outside the fence, in the bushes bordering the lake. On May 31, a nest 

 was taken from a depression at the base of a grass tuft. It was made 

 of coarse dried grass and horsehair. Cavity two and three-eighths inches 



