108 PACIFIC COAST AVIFAUNA No. 14 



207. Loxia curvirostra minor (Brehm) 



Crossbill 



A summer i-esideiit of yellow pine forests in the Transition zone, wlierever 

 they occur in the state. In other parts of the state mainly an irregular mijri'ant. 

 Has been found more rarely in winter. The yellow pine forest, which ai)p(ai's 

 to be the onl}^ place where this s]iecies breeds, occurs only at low elevations. l)e- 

 low 4,500 feet in the southern part of the state and below- 4,000 in the northci'-'i. 

 Such forest fonns the main body of timber in the pine hills of eastern ^lontana, 

 and occurs in the lower foothills of the mountains of many parts of west(!rn 

 Montana, so that the Crossbill's breeding: range should include all such areas. It 

 has been found in the breeding season in Custer County (Cameron, 1907, p. if)2) ; 

 along the Yellowstone and Musselshell (Allen, 1874, p. 55) ; at Flathead Lake 

 (Silloway, 1901a, p. 61) ; in the vicinity of Gold Creek, Powell County (Saun- 

 ders, 1912a, p. 28) ; at Florence, in the Bitterroot Valley (Bailey, :\IS) ; and at 

 Lake MacDonald, Glacier National Park. 



In migration this bird has been found at Lame Deer, May, 1891 (Thorne, 

 1895, p. 216); in Gallatin County, September 23 to October 24. 1908; at P:ik 

 Park, Silver Bow County, September 2 to 8, 1910 (Saunders, 1912a, p. 28) ; and 

 at Gary, Flathead County, September 26, 1915 (DuBois, ^IS). In winter it has 

 been noted at Lubec, Teton County, January 15. 1912 (Saunders, 1914a, p. 136) : 

 and at Corvallis in February, 1909 (Bailey, MS) ; and at Kalispell, February 

 3. 1917 (Sloanaker, MS). 



The nest has evidently been found but once in tlie state, at Flathead Lake 

 This nest was being Iniilt on July 19, and, with its eggs, was collected on -July 

 27, when incubation was partly advanced (Silloway. 19051), ]). 74 i . In ('iisb^r 

 County young are stated to be out of the nest June 15 (Cameron, 1907. i>. 402). 



208. Loxia leucoptera Gmelin 



White-winged Crossbill 



A r'arc suiiiiiier i-esident in the mountains of noitliw cstciii Montana, oe- 

 cuT-ring very rarely elsewhere in the state in migrations oi- in winter. Summer 

 records: One male seen at Swan Lake, and one female at Lake MacDonald (Sil- 

 loway, 1905b, p. 176) ; two seen on the road between Helton and Lake MacDon- 

 ald, Glacier National Park, July 4, 1915 (DuBois, IMS). One male and two. fe- 

 males seen on the South Fork of the Flathead River at Riverside, August 18, 

 1915 (lietts, 1916, p. 163). Records in migration: Big Sandy, April 22. 1905, 

 and September 12, 1905 (Cooke, li)12. ]). 46). Winter records: Occurs irregu- 

 larly in winter in the mountains of Fergus ('ounty (Silloway, 1903a, p. 49) : 

 four birds, a mal(> and thi-ee females. W(>re taken at Miles City, N()\-eiiil)ei' K', 

 1919, hy Hedges. These birds wei-e in a draw among wild rose b\ishes and Span- 

 ish bayonet, three-<|uarters of a mile From the neai'est trees and twelve miles 

 from the nearest pines. 



