44 Cameron, Birds of Custer & Dawson Counties, Mont. [jan^ 



pointed out: " In its song and the manner of its delivery it much resembles 

 the Yellow-breasted Chat [Icteria virens], like that bird rising to a con- 

 siderable distance in the air, and poising itself by a peculiar flapping 

 of the wings during its utterances, then abruptly descending to the ground 

 to soon repeat the manoeuvre. " (Birds of the Northwest, by Elliott Coues, 

 p. 164, 1874.) 



154. Progne subis. Purple Martin. — Not common. Martins have 

 nested for many years at the ranches of Messrs. Heywood, Daly and Harry 

 Schlosser near Knowlton (Custer County) where boxes have been provided 

 for them. The birds arrive about May 15. Mr. and Mrs. Bowman have 

 watched Bronzed Crackles stealing their eggs. Mrs. W. S. Haley has 

 observed Purple Martins in Dawson County. Two were seen by me among 

 cottonwoods of the Yellowstone near Terry on June 7, 1905. Dr. J. A. 

 Allen found Purple Martins more or less frequent al6ng the Yellowstone 

 from the mouth of Tongue River to Pompey's Pillar, August 1st to 15th.' 

 In his 'Birds of Fort Custer' (which four years ago was within Custer 

 County boundaries). Dr. Edgar A. Mearns gives them as "Numerous in 

 the timbered river bottom."^ 



155. Petrochelidon lunifrons. Cliff Sw^allow. — Very abundant in 

 both counties. My records show that it arrives at A^arying dates from 

 May 7 to May 27. Nests in colonies on buildings at almost all ranches 

 where allowed to do so, in the badlands, and against vertical cliffs above 

 the Yellowstone. There have always been large colonies nesting around 

 the Northern Pacific engine tank and section house at Terry. Two broods 

 are raised in the year. Mr. Walter Lindsay, of the Cross S ranch on 

 Mizpah Creek, informed me that in 1888, a rattlesnake climbed the veranda 

 poles and devoured all nestling swallows within reach. 



Some ranch owners unwillingly sweep down Cliff Swallows' nests under 

 the impression that their presence brings bedbugs into the houses. While 

 this is denied by scientists I am compelled to believe it, as so many impar- 

 tial investigators have assured me that the introduction of such vermin 

 synchronized with the first nidification of the birds. 



156. Hirundo erythrogaster. Barn Sw^a^llow. — Common in both 

 counties. Records kept since 1893 show that the average date of arrival 

 near Terry is May 13. This is one of the best known birds: I think it 

 would be impossible to find a ranch without swallows nesting in the stable 

 or outbuildings, and even in rooms to which they can gain access. Barn 

 Swallows generally rear two broods a year, of four or five in each, and the 

 last nestlings may not be full-fledged until the end of August. The young 

 birds fly about during the day but return to their nest at night, and those 

 that cannot find room inside sit about near it on the stalls. I thought 

 it a remarkable circumstance that in 1902 a single pair of swallows built 

 two nests in' my stable near Terry, the second above the other and a little 



1 Notes on the Natural History of portions of Montana and Dakota, 1874. 



2 Condor, Vol. VI. p. 21, 1904. 



