54 Cameron, Birds of Custer & Dawson Counties, Mont. [j^ 



1905, near Knowlton, a pair of Wrens were feeding their nestlings in the 

 deep fissure of an uprooted pine which had fallen across a spring. A mass 

 of twigs and buUberry thorns had been placed to protect the nest where 

 the crack was widest. I have found the female wren utterly fearless; she 

 would feed her young continually despite my presence. 



185. Sitta carolinensis aculeata. Slender-billed Nuthatch. — Not 

 common. Dr. J. A. Allen mentions this bird as " observed at rare intervals, 

 both on the Yellowstone and Musselshell." Captain Thorn "saw six and 

 took two at Lame Deer, Montana." I have only seen these Nuthatches 

 in the Missouri Brakes, and among the pines around Knowlton where they 

 breed. On July 1, 1905, I observed two old birds with four young come 

 to drink from the water-troughs at the old saw-mill on Horse Creek. They 

 were in company with Crossbills and Goldfinches. 



186. Parus atricapillus septentrionalis. Long-tailed Chickadee. — 

 Common resident in both counties. Nests in small deep holes of high 

 dead pines. On June 15, 1903, a pair of Chickadees were seen to be greatly 

 excited over a strip of rag hung in a pine on Cottonwood Greek, Dawson 

 County. They hovered about it, meditating an attack, but with each 

 breath of wind the flag fluttered, and frightened away the birds which 

 returned when the wind ceased. This strange behavior on their part 

 induced me to investigate, when I found their nest of wool, hair, and grass 

 in a very small hole below the rag. Four full feathered young were visible, 

 and there may have been more in the background. The birds' fears were 

 entirely allayed when I wrapped the offending rag around the branch. 

 Chickadees are among the tamest birds here, and were welcome visitors 

 to all my hunting camps. 



• 187. Myadestes townsendii. Townsend 's Solitaire. — Winter resi- 

 dent; not common. Arrives second week in September and leaves middle 

 of April. I first noticed these birds on Snow Creek, in the Missouri Brakes, 

 when they were frequently seen among the pines during October and 

 November. Another pair were observed on Oct. 8, 1899, in the pines of 

 the divide above the badlands opposite Terry, on the north side of the 

 Yellowstone. I have not seen Townsend 's Solitaire on the south side of 

 the river. A pair frequented my ranch in Dawson County during Novem- 

 ber, 1904, and throughout October and November in 1905. On Nov. 25, 

 these were joined by two others when all four seemed to live near the water 

 troughs and playfully chased each other round and round the cedars. 

 They were not seen after a bUzzard on Nov. 28, when the temperature 

 fell to 14° below zero, but they are able to withstand severe cold, as a 

 pair returned at the end of January and remained until April 14. During 

 winter they subsist on cedar berries. On Sept. 9, 1906, a Townsend's 

 Solitaire perched on a trough into which I was pumping water. 



188. Hylocichla aliciae. Gray-cheeked Thrush. — Rare. A solitary- 

 individual came to my water-troughs (Dawson County) on May 13, 1904. 

 Captain Thorne records "one female. May, 1889." 



189. Hylocichla ustulata swainsoni. Olive-backed Thrush.— Not 



