^^'ioos^^] Cameron, Birds of Custer & Dawson Counties, Mont. 51 



mer visitor along the rivers and creeks, arriving about May 25. Accidental 

 in the pines. Breeds. During the pairing season the male is conspicuous 

 in the tree tops and has a loud song of much sweetness although each 

 passage ends in a croak. While nesting the birds become very retiring 

 in their habits and are rarely seen. A nest found June 1 1 , 1894, in a thicket 

 of wild roses and gooseberry bushes, on the bank of the Yellowstone, con- 

 tained three eggs of the Chat and one egg of a Cowbird. A Long-tailed 

 Chat came to our north window on May 25, 1893, and endeavored to reach 

 the flies through the glass. We therefore killed a number of blue bottles, 

 which were threaded on a string and hung outside the window. The bird 

 then performed a number of strange antics in order to release the flies, 

 recalling the Old World Robin (Erithacus ruhecula), both by its confiding 

 manners and habit of looking at us with its head on one side. 



The aerial evolutions of Long-tailed Chats during and after the nesting 

 season are very remarkable. As I rode at my ranch (Custer County) on 

 July 9, 1894, five Long-tailed Chats were crossing an extensive area of 

 trees and brushwood below me. The first bird noticed I mistook for a 

 detached leaf, but, on looking again, I saw the other birds, which ascended 

 to a certain distance with a jerky, butterfly motion, then drifted aimlessly 

 into the bushes like so many dead leaves. 



175. Wilsonia pusilla. Wilson's Warbler. — Rare. Captain Thorne 

 records: "One male May 19, 1889." I have not seen it. 



176. Setophaga ruticilla. American Redstart. — Tolerably common 

 summer visitor. Rare, or casual, in the pines. Undoubtedly breeds, 

 although I have not happened to find a nest. A pair remained during the 

 summer of 1907 on Mr. J. H. Price's ranch but search for the nest was 

 made too late. Captain Thorne has taken young birds by July 24. On 

 May 25, 1893, a female Redstart made persistent efforts to reach the flies 

 inside my window through the glass at my ranch near Terry. The males 

 appear to arrive before the females. 



177. Anthus pensilvanicus. American Pipit. — Not common. Oc- 

 casional spring and fall migrant in small flocks. Pipits are most often 

 seen here about the end of April in the ploughed land, as they are fond of 

 following the plough and seeking their food in the freslily turned up earth. 

 They also alight on the wire fences. On the prairie in fall. Pipits associate 

 with Horned Larks and Longspurs, when they can always be recognized 

 by their buff underparts. 



178. Cinclus mexicanus. American Dipper. — Rare. Mr. J. H. Price 

 has observed this bird at different dates on Locate Creek in summer. I 

 have no notes of the Dipper in Montana, although I have observed it on 

 Tongue River, just across the Une in Wyoming, where it breeds. 



179. Oroscoptes montanus. Sage Thrasher. — Rare. In his report 

 to the Secretary of War on the Montana coUections made in 1873, Dr. J. A. 

 Allen mentions Sage Thrashers as seen at distant intervals on the divide 

 between the Musselshell and Yellowstone.' 



1 Notes on the Natural History of portions of Montana and Dakota. By J. A. 

 Allen, Naturalist of the Expedition. 



