\ 



1921 BIRDS OF MONTANA 107 



3 to ^larcli M (Kittredge, ^IS). A bird taken there Ueeeiiiber 3 is reported as 

 intermediate between leiicura and montana. 



In winter it is common in most of the mountain valleys, it is reported in 

 winter from Gallatin County (Saunders, ]911a, p. -ilj ; from Deer Lodge, Jef- 

 ferson and Silver Bow counties (Saunders, 1912a, p. 28) ; from ^lissoula (Kitt- 

 redge, ^IS) ; and from Helena, where it has been noted February 19 and 22, 

 1911. The birds from Gallatin County were originally reported as alasccnsis 

 but later examination has sho\ni that they are nearer to montana. 



205. Pinicola enucleator alascensis Ridgway 



Alaska Pine Grosbeak 

 This subspecies has been taken in the Bitterroot Valley in winter (Ridg- 

 way, 1898, p. 319) and it may occur elsewhere at that season. The majority of 

 winter birds from ^Montana are not typical of any race, but are probably inter- 

 grades between alascensis and montana. 



206. Carpodacus cassini Baird 



Cassin Purple Finch 



A summer resident of the western half of the state, mainly in the moun- 

 tains. Fairly common in most regions, but usually more abundant in migra- 

 tions than in the breeding season. In the latter season it is found up to the 

 Hudsonian zone, and, locally at least, remains in the Transition, probably 

 breeding. In my experience it is commoner in the Transition and Hudsonian 

 zones than it is in the intervening Canadian. All observers in the western half 

 of the state who have done any work in the mountains, report this species, so 

 it is evidently universally distributed. The eastern limits of its range in the 

 mountains are marked by Teton and Lewis and Clark counties (Saunders, 1914a, 

 p. 136) and Park County, where I have observed the bird in Livingstone, and 

 probably by the Belt ^Mountains, where two birds were seen and recorded as 

 C. purpureus (Williams, 1882a, p. 62), the identification being evidently a mis- 

 take. The Cassin Purple Finch occurs throughout the breeding season, and un- 

 doubtedly breeds, in cottonwood trees in the following places in the valleys: 

 Bozeman (Saunders, 1911a, p. 41), Bitterroot Valley (Bailey, MS), and ]\Tis- 

 soula and Kalispell (Kittredge, ]\IS). 



The migrations appear to be decidedly irregular. In valley locations the 

 birds often occur in large flocks in the spring migration, when the numbers are 

 so great that it is easy to mark both the beginning and the end of the flight. 

 Dates for such migrations are: Gallatin County, Ma.y 5 to 19, 1909; Silver Bow 

 County, April 22 to :\Iay 18, 1910; Anaconda, May 27 to June 10, 1911. At 

 Columbia Falls it was first observed April 4. 1894, and April 5, 1897 (Cooke, 

 1914b, p. 106). In the Bitterroot Valley it was first seen April 7. 1912 (Bai- 

 ley, MS). 



The nest of this species has never been recorded from .Montana. Young ai'e 

 full grown at ]\Iissoula by July 10 (Kittredge, ^IS). 



