BIRDS OF FERGUS COUNTY, MONTANA 53 



bench to glean from the weed-tops, and if disturbed will sweep away on rest- 

 less wings, moving in undulating, capricious flight wherever impulse may 

 lead them. 



Distinguishing features: (Winter plumage) Crown brownish gray, 

 extending downward on back of neck; wing coverts edged with brown; up- 

 per parts streaked with brown and black; under parts white, streaky; 

 length 6-7 inches. 



538. CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR. Calcarius ornatus. 



The chestnut-collared longspur occurs on the high prairies of the 

 county in summer, though in small numbers. Each spring I observe several 

 chestnut-collared longspurs, among the hundreds of McCown's longspurs 

 that nest on the prairies adjacent to Lewistown. Dr. J. A. Allen states 

 that he rarely observed it beyond the Yellowstone, only two or three indi- 

 viduals being seen during his journey up the Yellowstone and across to the 

 Musselshell and back. It is likely that this longspur breeds only sparingly 

 in the eastern districts of the county. 



Distinguishing features: Upper parts grayish brown, streaked with 

 darker colors; head marked with black, white, and dull yellow; breast and 

 belly black; back part of neck with a prominent band of bright reddish- 

 brown; female lacks the prominent colors of the male; length 5.50-6.50 

 inches. 



539. McCOWN'S LONGSPUR. Rhynchophanes mccownii. 



An abundant summer resident, breeding in numbers on the high 

 prairie districts of the county. This longspur appears in this locality late 

 in April. At first the birds keep in flocks, sitting on the ground so closely 

 that an observer can get among them without detecting their presence until 

 he startles one or more almost under his feet. On such occasions the start- 

 led birds will fly a few feet, while the remainder of the flock will continue 

 to crouch upon the ground. As the days pass, the males utter a low, trill- 

 ing song, not greatly different from that of the horned larks. Soon the 

 longspurs scatter over the prairie, and the peculiar flight-songs of the males 

 begin. Rising with twittering, hurried chant, after an ascent of a few 

 yards, they will drop downward with out-spread, unmoving wings, uttering 

 their gush of song, thus descending parachute-like to earth. 



The period of nidification begins about the middle of May in this 

 region, though in some instances broods are hatched by the end of this 

 month. On May 27, 1900, I chanced upon a nest of McCown's longspur 

 containing young about three days old. Two days later I found a nest con- 

 taining four eggs somewhat advanced in incubation. The site was a de- 

 pression among grass-blades, open above. The nest was made of dried 

 grass felted at the bottom with a few downy pistils, the style of architecture 

 being very similar to that followed by the horned lark. The cavity was 

 two and one-half inches in diameter, and two inches in depth. A nest 

 found on May 29, 1901, was in a depression at the base of a small coronilla 

 bush, a very common site, and one most generally selected by this longspur. 

 The eggs are grayish-olive, copiously marked with irregular blotches of 

 dark brown. On May 29, 1903, I found a nest of McCown's longspur on the 



