1H21 BIRDS OF MONTANA 15'> 



l,liis speries. It is ratlin- rare in soutliw cstrrii .Mcmtaiia. wlici-f the Transition 

 yellow iiini' is not found, hut it is quite eoninion in the nortliwesteru part of tiie 

 state, .lust wlii'fr the eastern limits of its range are is not determined, but it 

 IS [)i'ohahl(! that this form breeds in all the true mountains, while nirnliiK iisis 

 is eonfined to the jiine hills of the prairie I'egion. 



There are no records of the taking of eggs of this subspeeies in the state, 

 iiut a nest containing newly hatched .young was found in the Belt Jlountains, 

 June 2."), 1880 (Williams. lS,S'2a, p. (i'2 ) . I havp obsrrwd these birds feeding 

 .^■oung at Flathead Lake in July. 1914. 



311. Sitta canadensis Linnaeus 



Rkd-bkeasted Ni'T hatch 



A sunnner resident in the proper localities throughout the state. Breeds 

 in yellow pine forests in the Transition zone, and is onl.v found in suiiniiri- where 

 sneli forests occih'. East of the mountains it evidentl.v Ijreeds in tin- pine hills, 

 but of all the observers who have worked in this region, onl.v t\'i> have found it. 

 Seven skins, dated April iT) to 27, l!)(lil, and May IS, li)ll2, are from the vicinity 

 of Jliles ('ity (Hedges, coll. I'niv. Montana). 1 noted this species in the Long 

 I'ine Hills, Carter County, November 29, 19(19. In the mountains it is reported 

 commonly. It breeds in Fergus Count.y (Sillowa.v. 19():ia. p. tiSi. and at Helena 

 (.Crooker, 1893, p. 183), east of the divide. West of the divide where thi' eleva 

 tions are lower and yellow jiine eonnnoner, the Ked-hreastetl Xuthati-h is found 

 breeding in a larger area. It is rejwrted breeding in Powell County (Saunders, 

 1912a, p. 31), at Flathead Lake (Silloway, 1901a, \). 72). at Belton ( DuBois, 

 MS), and about Lake MaeDonald in (Jlacier National l';irk. West of the divide 

 it is occasionally found in winter. 



The migrations take place in April and Ma.v, and in September and Octo- 

 ber. In southwestern Montana it migrates through the Canadian zone in the 

 mountains in i-egions where it is not known in sunniier. It sometimes occurs 

 during migrations in tlie prairie region, when not far from the mountains. Dates 

 of migration in regions wheri' it does not breed are as follows: Arrival in fall: 

 Bridger Creek, Gallatin County, September 7. 1908; Pipestone Basin, October 2, 

 1909. Departure in fall: Cinnabar Basin, Park Count.y, October 24, 1908. 

 Spring arrival; Sour Dough Canyon, Gallatin Count.v, April 1(5, 1909; Divide 

 Creek, Silver Bow Count.v. April 18. 191H. Spi'ing departure: Bozeman. Ma.v 

 25, 1909. Records in tlie prairie region are: Choteau, .Ma.v 2;"). 1912 (Saunders. 

 1914a, p. 143) ; Dutton, June 18, 1917 (DuBois, MS). 



In 1919 a great flight of these birds ocein-red in the |)i-airie )-egion in Aug\is! 

 The probable cause of this flight was the forest fires which were ver.y severe 

 that .year in the western part of the state. The birds were reported from Dutton 

 b.v DuBois, and from Miles Cit.v b.v Hedges. In the former localit.v the.v w'cre 

 seen on the open prairie miles awa.v from trees, wdiere they climbed over the 

 sides of ranch buildings and on fence posts. The P.ygm.y Nuthatch was found 

 with the Red-breasted at Miles City, and large flights of crossbills of lioth s])e- 

 cies were reported. It is perhaps significant that all these species were birds 

 breeding in .vellow jiine forests. 



