-20- 



i 



but scarce," and that two or three pairs nested on the prairie dog towns in 

 the vicinity of Terry. The long-billed curlew was observed on six occasions 

 in the grassland and sage-grassland types. Curlews are known to breed on the 

 area as two adults were observed with two prefledgling young during July 1979. 

 This species was listed by Cameron (1907) as being a "very common summer visitor." 

 He also stated that curlews nested all over the prairie and in the fenced pastures 

 of ranches. This is no longer the case and reasons for the decline are unknown. 

 The upland sandpiper was observed on three occasions in the sage-grassland and 

 once in the grassland type. These obsei-vations took place during their breeding 

 season (May and June). It appears therefore that they may breed on the area. 

 Historically, this species was common (Cameron, 1907) , particularly, on large 

 prairie flats in the area and breeding was known to occur. 



Order Passerif ormes 



Of the nine species listed as being of "special interest or concern" for this 

 order, four (mountain bluebird, clay-colored sparrow. Brewer's sparrow, field 

 sparrow) are known to occur on the area. The mountain bluebird was observed 

 on several occasions and circumstantial evidence indicated breeding occurred 

 on the study area. This species was most commonly observed in the badlands 

 type, especially in areas with pine and/or patches of juniper. Cameron (1908) 

 found, as in this study, that they are one of the earliest spring arrivals 

 (may be seen as early as March). He stated that they were not common except 

 during migration, but found that several pairs remained to nest in the pine hills. 

 The clay-colored sparrow was observed on several occasions both singly and in 

 small flocks during spring migration both years. Although none were observed 

 during the breeding season, it is possible they breed on the area. Cameron 

 (1908) listed this species as common on spring migration and rare at other times. 

 Brewer's sparrows were frequently observed in the sage-grassland type and were 

 known to breed in fairly high densities (27.2 pairs/100 ha) during 1979. Numbers 

 were drastically reduced In 1980 (1.5 pairs/100 ha) in the sage-grassland and 

 on the area as a whole. This is probably due in part to effects of the drought. 

 Thorne (1895) listed the Brewer's sparrow as a common breeding species. While 

 Cameron (1908) stated he had not "recognized" the species. Finally, several 

 field sparrows were seen on the area during the spring migration. Sanders (1916) 

 mentioned one specimen of this species collected on 11 May 1902 in Miles City. 

 Skaar (1980) listed the field sparrow as a species with circumstantial evidence 

 of breeding in this area. It is possible, therefore, that they do breed on the 

 study area. 



RAPTORS 



Table 2 lists the raptor species found on the area, as well as the vegetation 

 type in which they were most frequently observed, relative abundance (present 

 and historical), status, and classification. In addition, general locations 

 of all raptor nests from 1979 and 1980 are presented in Figure 9 and Figure 

 10, respectively (a more detailed description of nest location, status and 

 nest structure is presented in Appendix Tables 20 and 21. Terminology utilized 

 when describing nest status (i.e. active, occupied, inactive, etc.) follows 

 Postupalsky (1974) . Historical relative abundance is derived from studies 

 conducted by Cameron (1907). Because of the importance placed on raptors 

 when making land use decisions, a species-by-species account is presented 

 below. 



