THE OOLOGIST. 



89 



are so many young birds in the nests. 

 Some birds, as the Woodpeckers, and 

 others which wisely build in cavities, 

 are practically free from wind and rain, 

 and to an extent from cold; still, this 

 habit does not siem to secure greater 

 protection to the cavity builders in the 

 long run, as the Woodp',ckers do not 

 hold their own any better than the 

 Robin and some others which build ex- 

 posed nests. 



Not only is the effect of a long con- 

 tinued, or heavy rain very severe on 

 the young; tens of thousands being 

 drowned or chilled to death, but an al- 

 most equally destructive measure lies 

 in the visitation of a severe wind. - In 

 these cases the birds hatched on the 

 ground have a better chance for their 

 lives than the species which are partial 

 to tree habitations. Hawks and owls, 

 and all other large birds are but little 

 affected by the wind as they seem to be 

 able to withstand the effects. But it is 

 not so with many small birds, and 

 many young and eggs are rolled from 

 the nests in each severe wind storm. 

 There are many birds which build but 

 little better than platforms for their 

 nests, and the eggs and youug are 

 often shaken from the nearly level 

 structures I could mention several 

 species which meet with disaster from 

 the wind, but will speak of but one. 

 The small Green-crested Flycatcher 

 constructs a very slightly hollowed 

 nest, and in addition to this apparent 

 lack in judgement, it also selects the 

 extremities of long branches for the at- 

 tachment of its house. It is not sur- 

 prising that the eggs and young are 

 made the sport of the winds. 

 [To be continued.] 



Montana Magpies. 



As several seasons have passed since 

 I did anything in the way of collecting, 

 it has not been my fortune to appear 

 as a contributor to the columns of the 



OoLOGiST in recent times. This season, 

 however, finds me frequently afield in 

 the wilds of central Montana, and 

 though no rare species have added 

 their treasures to my modest cabinet, 

 a few notes concerning our common 

 Montana birds may be of interest. We 

 collectors generally make mistakes in 

 withholding our notes regarding com- 

 mon birds, thinking them of little value, 

 and hence many facts upon migration, 

 nesting dates, and other ornithological 

 data, which might be available for 

 another's use, never see the light. This 

 article, therefore, does not aim to add 

 largely to the body of information re- 

 lative to the habits of so familiar a 

 species as the American Magpie, Pica 

 pica hudsonica, but rather to furnish 

 data from from this region, where col- 

 lectors seem to be few and far between. 



Spring opened unusally early in this 

 region, fully a month earlier than last 

 season. Few traces of vernal vegeta- 

 tion were noticeable here in '99 before 

 the middle of June; at the date of this 

 writing. May 12th, spring has been 

 reigning for several weeks, the trees 

 and bushes are robed in green, and 

 blossoms scent the air. Early in April 

 the songs of Western Meadowlarks and 

 Mountain Song Sparrows began to ren- 

 der the air vocal with melody, and it is 

 needless to say that such attractions 

 were too powerful to fail in drawing 

 me afiield. 



My first set of Magpie's eggs was 

 taken on April 21. Other nests con- 

 tained incomplete sets, which were not 

 disturbed, but as this set was found at 

 the close of an afternoon's tiresome 

 tramp, and a period of rainy weather 

 was threatening, the eight eggs were 

 transferred to my collecting box. The 

 nests in this locality are all found in 

 dry, bushy ravines or ''coulees" opening 

 upon the small water-courses. About 

 a mile and a half from my home is a 

 slaughter house, and within a half 

 mile of this attractive center were from 



