BIRDS OP FERGUS COUNTY, MONTANA 37 



with a mustache of bright scarlet; lower parts pale reddish-brown; length 

 13-14 inches. 



418. POOR-WILL. Phalaenoptilus nuttallii. 



A common summer resident of the mountain regions. I have ob- 

 served it in the Big Snowy Mountains at 7,000 and more elevation. It is 

 generally flushed from the ground, among the trees or bushes, and on 

 such occasions will fly but a short distance, always with noiseless wir.g 

 and in uncertain course, alighting on the ground. Sometimes when flushed 

 it will utter a low, whimpering cry. Its eggs are deposited on the ground, 

 usually among the leaves or pine needles, early in June. Two eggs form 

 the complement. They are white, unspotted. It nests regularly in the 

 Moccasin Mountains, and probably in the Judith Mountains. It is likely 

 ot general distribution in the county, as Dr. J. A. Allen reports that a few 

 individuals were seen by him in the pine ridges and ravines along the 

 It'usselshell. Dr. C. A. McChesney also gives it in his list of birds of tho 

 Lig Horn region. 



Distinguishing features: Upper parts brownish gray, varied by spots 

 and waves of black; throat with a large spot of white; tail tipped with 

 yrhite; length 7-9 inches. 



420a. WESTERN NIGHTHAWK. Chordeiles virginianus henryi. 



A common summer resident. Late in the summer the nighthawks 

 can be seen quartering over the meadows, beginning their flight soon after 

 the middle of the afternoons. On August 1, 1902, I noted a flock of twenty- 

 five or thirty nighthawks wheeling over a hay meadow near Deerfield, 

 about four o'clock in the afternoon of a clear day. 



Distinguishing features: Upper parts mottled with gray and black; 

 tail with several dusky bands; lower parts white, barred with blackish 

 brown; throat with a white spot; length 9-10 inches. 



444. KINGBIRD. Tyrannus tyrannus. 



A common summer resident, inhabiting the thickets and groves of 

 dwarf trees along the streams. The kingbird appears in the second week 

 of May, and begins to nest early in June. It leaves this locality for the 

 south about the end of August, but frequently it is seen early in Septem- 

 ber. The pugnacious disposition of the kingbird, its loud twittering as it 

 takes an active part In the affairs of its little neighborhood, its peculiar 

 swimming-like manner of flight, and its expert aerial movements in pur- 

 suit of flying insects, all combine to give the kingbird a wide reputation. 

 It is reputed to live chiefly on insects, but in two instances I have seen 

 the kingbird try to vary its diet. Once I saw a kingbird fly into a haw 

 tree, pick a berry, and fly out of the tree with the berry in its mouth; 

 however, it seemed awkward in handling the fruit, and let it drop before 

 the bird flew to a perch nearby. On another occasion I noted the king- 

 bird feeding on service-berries. 



Distinguishing features: Upper parts grayish black; crown with a 

 concealed spot of yellowish-red; lower parts white; length 8-9 inches. 



