BIRDS OF FERGUS COUNTY, MONTANA 43 



more or less common from the Missouri to the Musselshell, being seen 

 almost daily, but nowhere very numerous. At Ft. Keogh, Capt. Thorne 

 found it not common. 



Distinguishing features: Plumage glossy black; length 21-26 inches. 



488. AMERICAN CROW. Corvus americanus. 



In this immediate region, the crow is migratory. Where the crows 

 reared in this neighborhood spend the winter, I have no idea worth re- 

 cording. The first crows of the season appear early in April, the earliest 

 for 1900 being seen on April 7, though in 1901 the first crow was noted on 

 March 30. For the four years that include my observation in Montana, 

 a single pair of crows have had quarters along Little Casino Creek, where 

 they have generally succeeded in rearing a brood. The largest colony that 

 I know in this locality is on John Glancy's ranch along Big Spring Creek, 

 where perhaps two dozen families of crows are reared each season in the 

 willow groves. 



Though the crows appear to arrive in the spring in pairs or small 

 groups, it is likely that they depart in the fall in a body including most 

 of the colony in any neighborhood. For several weeks preceding their 

 departure, they go nightly to some favored roosting-place, returning to 

 pass the day in their summer feeding-grounds. On August 28, 1899, I 

 noted that a large body of crows, consisting of forty to fifty individuals, 

 was flying northward about the middle ofternoon. On September 11, a large 

 flock of crows was seen about 3:30 p. m., flying in compact body toward 

 the north. No stragglers were seen. There were between fifty and sev- 

 enty-five individuals in this flock. On October 2, I noted that a large flock 

 of crows was flying southward about four in the afternoon. October 12th 

 brought evidences of changing weather, with fine snow in the air, and the 

 wind raw and chilling. A flock of about fifty crows was seen flying in 

 compact formation toward the south about three in the afternoon, and 

 this movement was apparently the final migration, for no crews were 

 seen thereafter, until the opening of the next season. 



Distinguishing features: Plumage glossy black, length 18-20 inches. 



491. CLARKE'S NUTCRACKER. Nucifraga columbiana. 



This species is a common resident of the mountainous districts. 

 It is popularly known as "camp robber," because of its notorious disposi- 

 tion to visit the camp of the prospector, hunter, or tourist, to pick up 

 tid-bits of food lying about the premises. It sometimes carries its depreda- 

 tions so far as to sample the contents of the open mess-chest. It is a 

 noisy bird, having a harsh, crow-like call consisting of several scolding 

 syllables. During most of the year the nutcracker ranges over the moun- 

 tainous localities in troops of small numbers, usually frequenting the tops 

 of tall pines and other conifers. In the Big Snowy Mountains the nutcracker 

 is common at altitudes of seven and eight thousand feet. On May 9, 1903, 

 a young Clarke's nutcracker, taken from a brood of three about to leave 

 1he nest, was brought to me from Whisky Gulch, Judith Mountains. The 



