Merrill's Oological Notes from Montana. 205 



specimen described was found by Captain Bendire in Oregon ; it was 

 white. " moderately spotted and blotched with pale reddish-brown, but 

 not thickly." Mr. Belding, who found three nests, was the first to describe 

 the eggs as white.* A fifth nest is recorded by Mr. Scott ;t and Dr. 

 Brewer describes§ a set of seven eggs, six of which are pure unspotted 

 chalk}' white, the seventh being ''marked over its entire surface with fine 

 rounded dots of reddish-brown." 



A nest found June iS was in a fire-killed pine at a height of about six- 

 teen feet. A knothole had been cleared out and the soft decayed wood 

 removed to a depth of four inches, the hardness of the surrounding wood 

 preventing a deeper excavation. On a warm felted bed of various soft 

 materials were five or six recently hatched young and an addled egg. The 

 latter measures .5SX.4S and is a dull unspotted chalk}' white, only slightly 

 pointed at the smaller end. While examining the nest the parents were 

 very bold, perching on a branch within a foot of my head and scolding 

 vigorously. 



Dendrceca audubcni (Towns.) Buird. — Breeding rather abundantly 

 in the Big Horn Mountains but only one nest was found. Several descrip- 

 tions of the eggs of the Western Yellow-rump have recently appeared, 

 and its breeding habits are now fairly well known. My nest was found 

 on the 17th of June in a young pine tree growing on the top of a ridge at 

 the edge of a deep canon, at an elevation of 6.500 feet. It was about seven 

 feet from the ground and placed against the main trunk, supported by and 

 partly saddled upon two twigs. It is large for the size of the bird, 

 measuring 4X4 inches: internally i£Xl|. Externally it is composed 

 of many small twigs and fine strips of bark; within this is a thick wall 

 of well matted strips of a weed and of bark and pine needles. The inner 

 lining consists of fine fibrous roots and hairs, with a feather or two. 

 The most curious feature of the nest is a circle of feathers of Richardson's 

 Grouse attached to the rim for nearly the entire circumference, a small 

 bare space being left which was apparently used by the bird on entering. 

 These feathers are fastened to the rim by the larger ends and are directed 

 upwards and inwards forming a sort of canopy which completely hid the 

 female while sitting. The appearance is very peculiar and quite unlike 

 anything I have seen, for this use of the feathers is evidently intentional 

 and is very different from what is seen in nests w r ith a lining of loose 

 feathers in which the bird sinks nearly out of sight. One egg was broken ; 

 the other four, far advanced in incubation, average .68X.53. The ground 

 color is a decidedly greenish-white, sparingly marked over the entire 

 surface with small spots and dots of black, brown, and lavender, the latter 

 predominating, and form an irregular wreath around the larger end. 



Junco annectens, Baird. — Rather common in the mountains, but only 

 at a considerable height and among the pine trees. A nest taken June 13 



* Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., I, 400. 

 tBull. Nutt. O. C, IV, 92. 

 § », V, 47- 



