1921 BIRDS OF MONTANA 53 



takrs |il;i>M' in August. Tlie hitcst dates that 1 can find ai'c (iallaliii County. 

 August IS, 1908. Shields River, Park County, August 8, 1900, GoUl Creek. I'owell 

 County, August 17, 1910, and Flathead Lake, August 21, 1914. Other August 

 dates, probably indicating about tlie latest dates of the speeies t'oi- tlinse years, 

 are August V2. 1874 ( Coues, 18741i, p. (144), and Billings. August l:'., 1900 (.Tones 

 and Daw-sou, 1900, p. 129). 



87. Numenius americanus lieehstein 



l.(.(X(i-HU.LKU CUKLEW 



Fonnerl,y a vei-,v aliuudaut suiiiiner i-esiiieiit throughout the state, breeding 

 on the plains and praiiaes of thi' eas1ei-u part, and in the broad niouiitaiii \alie.vs 

 of the western half. Still found in eonsideral)!e numbers in the more remote dis- 

 tricts, but beeoming steadil.v rarer. Nearl.y all observers report this speeies 

 from all parts of the state, and the earlier ones note its abundance. 



The bird nests in Ma.y and June, most eggs having been found in ]\Ia,v. Sill- 

 owa.v records man.y nests from Fergus ( 'ount.v, the earliest date for eggs lieing 

 jMay 5, and the latest June 1 (1900a. pp. 79-82, and 1902a, pp. 33-34). Other nest- 

 ing dates are May 18, 1906 (Abbott, 1906, ]i. LVi) : May 20, Fort Benton (Croft, 

 1882, i>. 107). An unusually lale date is from Fi'eui'hman's River. Jidy 4. 1874 

 (Coues, 1874b, p. 645). Eggs were found hatching at Button. June 6, 191."i 

 (DuBois, MS). 



Spring migration takes place in April. Dates are as follows. Terry, avei-- 

 age April 16, earliest Ajiril 7. 1906. and Big Sandy, average A].)ril 

 19, earliest April 13, 1903 (Cooke. 19ina. p. 72): Lewistown, April 24, 1899, 

 and April 25, 1900 (Silloway, 1900a, |i. 79); Teton County, April 20, 1912 

 (Saunders, 1914a, p. 130) ; Bitterroot Valley, first seen April 7, 1911, and not 

 again till April 20, 1911 (Bailey, MS) ; Dutton, April 28, 1915, April 26, 1916, 

 and April 22, 1917 (Dubois. MS). Fall migration evidently takes place in August 

 and September, but definite dates are lacking. Silloway gives the middle of Sep- 

 tember (1903a, pp. 20-23), but the only definite date for this month is September 

 4, 1911, for Teton County (Saunders, 1914a, p. 130). In my e.xpei'ience the 

 great flocks of curlews that gather arouinl the praii'ie ponds in J\dy and August 

 are gone before September. 



88. Numenius borealis (J. R. Forster) 



ESKlMd CriiLKW 



Formerly a migrant. .May still occur in small nuniliers. but recent records 

 are lacking. There an- two re|)oi-ts of its occui-i'encc in the state, but one of 

 these is probalJy not authentic. Three specimens from the Upper Missoui'i col- 

 lected in 1841 by Lieut. Wai'ren ( Baird, l8."iS. p. 741 ). Breeding at Fort lien- 

 ton, downy .young caught in .July ,Coopei'. ISIitia. p. 83). This record is obvi- 

 ously to be (picstioned, as other sources do not indicate that this species ever 

 i) ed so far south. 



89. Squatarola squatarola (Linnaeus) 



Black-bellied Plover 

 Several birds of this sticcies were seen at Priest Butte Lakes, Si'iitember 4, 



