1921 BIRDS OF MONTANA 19 



l)etw('i'ii till' assdciatioiis arr not viTV rlcaf. liadlands. praii'if Initti's, riiii- 

 I'ocks. i-liiTs aloiin i'i\iT canydiis. sti-ej) iiiouiitaiii sides, tains slopes and nioi-aines 

 all attract cfi-tain forms of liii'd life. The Say L'lioebe, Koek \'''ren and Cliff 

 Swallow are aliuiidant ahoiil the drier roeks of the prairies. White-thi'oatcd 

 Swifts ocenr locally. \'iolet-ci-een Swallows are ahundaut in river canyons. The 

 Duck Hawk and I'rairic l<\ilcon, the Western Kedtail and Fei'm^inous Roniilide'v. 

 the Golden Eagle, Ilorneil Owl and Raven all nest on more or less inaccessible 

 cliffs. The Townsend Solitaire iidialiits rocl< piles in the hiuher mountains, while 

 aliont till' glacial moraines above tinil>i'rline the (Iray-crowned Rosy J^'incli and, 

 jierliaps, the l^laek Rosy Finch, are to be found. 



Slii'ub associations cover larger areas than any we have so far considei-ed, 

 exei'pt the grass assoeiatioiis, and they snppoi-t a very much largei' amount of 

 bird lil'c' even than those. They are therefore of greater imporl.incc. In fad, 

 taki'n acre for acre, I believe they support the greatest amount of bird life of 



Fis. ■"'• A TH,\Nsu-:.N"i' I'li.vnni-; sr.ouGH, Th;Ti>\ Cocntv, srtii .\s I'liini r.i!i:i-i>i\(: 



(aKICMlS FOR .M.^.NY W.XTIOK BIROS. Ai:<ll T IIIIS ONK Tin'; HOR.NIl) Gkki'.i;, Sl)l!\. 



Wilson Phal.xropk, Kim.uker, Rkuwincis .\,\ii S.wanm.mi Si'.\ri!ows niosted. 

 Wheat Stubble in the eiirecirou.n'd. TKANsnioN zone. Piioki iiv A. D. 

 DrBois. 



any group of associat i(uis in the state. 'I'here arc several diffei-cnt shrub associa- 

 tions, four of whicli arc widely- distributed and easily recognized. These are the 

 sage-hrnsh, \\illo\\ thicket, wild rose and cini|Ui'foil a.s.sociations. 



The willow thicket is the most impor1an1, b.Mng found over large areas anil 

 su]ipoi'ting the largest number of birds both as to species and individuals. It 

 occurs from Sonoran to Canadian, and differs somewhat in the difierent /.ones. 

 Some of the species breetling in this associ;ition al low elevations are the Ti'aiil 

 Flycalehi'r. ;\Iag])ie. \\'i'ste)'n ('I'ow, iJrewer liiackliird. Song S|iairo\v. Arctic 

 Towhcc, I'.lack-headed ({ro.sbeak. Yellow Warbler. W,.sterii Vcllo.vthi'oat, Red- 

 start, C.-itbird, l.ong-tailc<l Chickadee and Willow Thrush. M higher elevations 



