2l6 Thorne, Birds of Fort KcogJi, Alofitajia. Lj"'y 



76. Icterus bullocki. — Common. Breeds. 



77. Scolecophagus cyanocephalus. — Abundant in spring and fall. Do 

 not think they breed. 



78. Quiscalus quiscula aeneus. — Abundant. Breeds. This is the worst 

 foe to the eggs and young of other birds to be found here. Have often 

 seen them rifling nests. They appear never to eat the eggs at the nest 

 but thrust their bills into the eggs and fly off with them. A Wren or a 

 Summer Yellow-bird can repel a single one. Have seen as many as 

 twentv combine to rob an Oriole's nest. 



79. Coccothraustes vespertinus. — Rare. Saw three at Tongue River 

 Agencv, Lame Deer, Montana, April 26, 1891. One female had ova just 

 visible without a glass. 



80. Loxia curvirostra minor. — Rare. Not found at Fort Keogh. Took 

 six and saw six others at Lame Deer, Montana, in May, 1891. The con- 

 dition of the ova showed that it was not near the breeding period. Lame 

 Deer has quite a high altitude and the hills are covered with pine trees. 



81. Leucosticte tephrocotis. — Abundant in winter. Arrive by Novem- 

 ber 6 or 7 and remain here in varying numbers until the last of ?vLarch. 

 Thev are fond of oats and the mule corrall is their favorite place. When 

 it is cold and stormy they gather into the Post by thousands. If a warm 

 dav comes, especially if the ground is bare, few are to be seen, and where 

 they go at these times I do not know, as I never find them about the 

 country. Thev are often seen sheltering themselves in the old nests of 

 Cliff Swallows. They are exceedingly restless birds. 



82. Leucosticte tephrocotis littoralis. — Common in winter. Found in 

 flocks with the last in about the proportion of one in twenty. They are 

 among the first birds to arrive and the last to depart. Mr. Robert 

 Ridgwa}' wrote me March 6, 1SS9, that Fort Custer, Montana, was the 

 most eastern point from which they had been previously reported. 



83. Acanthis linaria. — Abundant during the winter of 1SS8-S9, arriving 

 November 7 and remaining until the middle of February. A few small 

 flocks were seen other winters. I took a pretty large number thinking I 

 might find A. h. exilifes among them, but although there is a good deal of 

 variation in the size, markings and plumage of my specimens, I do not 

 think I have taken it. 



84. Spinas tristis. — Common. Breeds. 



8^. Plectrophenax nivalis. — Abundant during the winter of 1S89-90. 

 None seen other winters. Ai-rived November 14. Most abundant the 

 middle of February. Last seen March 17. An old teamster told me he 

 had seen them here before but could not tell what year. 



86. Rhynchophanes mccownii. — Usually not common. A few small 

 flocks are seen in spring, and some few birds remain in summer which I 

 think breed here. At Stoneville, Montana, on the Little Missouri River, 

 from September 4 to September 11, 1SS9, immense flocks were seen daily.> 



87. Poocaetes gramineus confinis. — -Common. Breeds. 



88. Ammodramus sandwichensis alaudinus. — Common. Breeds. Is 

 rare in the latter part of May and during June. Common in July. First 



