1570 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 paet s 



1962, "I never saw a McCown's Longspur," although he believes the 

 bird may be resident but very much restricted. Writing about the 

 South Saskatchewan River sector, Frank Roy (1958) comes to the 

 conclusion that "longspurs, once the most common bird in the Coteau, 

 are now a rare and local species." However, in a letter (1964) he 

 adds, "I now believe that the fluctuations in numbers in the area 

 north of the South Saskatchewan River are attributable to the birds 

 being near the edge of their normal range." 



Apparently McCown's is a bird that responds to not easily dis- 

 cernible environmental changes. Perhaps this is involved in the 

 unpredictableness of its appearances at certain times and in certain 

 places. Although not enough data seem to be at hand to draw con- 

 clusions, it appears to arrive in numbers more often in dry years than 

 in wet. Roberts (1932) says that it visited western Minnesota "only 

 in dry seasons — when very dry it was most abundant, and in wet 

 seasons it was entirely absent." 



In North Dakota Dr. and Mrs. Robert Gammell (letter, 1964), 

 bird banders at Kenmare, are of the opinion that they secure McCown's 

 "mostly during the dry years * * *. During the dry year of 1961 we 

 caught 6 in July." This is contrasted with years of average or above 

 average moisture when one bird was banded in June in 1959 and none 

 in the years 1960, 1962, 1963, and 1964 until August; after the breeding 

 season, that is, and at the beginning of the flocking and migration 

 period. Frank Roy (1964) states that its abundance in the "Elbow" 

 region of Saskatchewan apparently depends on the year — an inference, 

 I take it, to a wet or a dry year. 



Another factor seems to complicate the problem. Writes Stewart 

 (letter, 1964) : "Certainly there seems to be ample habitat left, since 

 large tracts of native prairie are still present in many areas, including 

 the high, drier types that were preferred. * * * The reason for the 

 gradual disappearance of this species in North Dakota is not apparent 

 tome." He adds: "Possibly, some subtle climatic change may be 

 involved." 



Willard Rosine (MS) suggests that certain of the emberizine forms, 

 such as lark bunting and grasshopper sparrow, may detect minute 

 and subtle changes in the complex of soil and vegetation as well of 

 climate — changes too minute to be easily recognized — to which they 

 respond. It may be that McCown's longspur is a member of this 

 group. 



I have been thinking about the effects of fire in the regeneration of 

 the prairie environment and whether this may be one of the "changes" 

 involved here. Earty travelers on the plains have left many and 

 vivid depictions of "oceans of flame" rolling over the prairie swales, 

 from Kansas (Sage, 1846) to the Canadian Provinces where Henry W. 



