^^IsgS^] Merrill, liin/s of Fort S/icninm, Idaho. \C 



August 19 and saw none after my return. It is probable tliat this bird is 

 a common but irregular summer visitor, nesting in the high pines and firs 

 in the hills surrounding the lake, to the borders of which many return as 

 soon as the ^■oung are fledged. 



Carpodacus cassini. — Arriving aliout the middle of April, this line 

 songster is one of the most abundant summer birds at Fort Sherman, 

 breeding commonly about the houses as well as on the surrounding hills. 



Loxia curvirostra minor. — As before stated, the occurrence of the 

 Crossbill at Fort Sherman is irregular; they are sometimes as common 

 and fearless as the English Sparrow. I have seen them in the fort every 

 month in the year, but in summer most of them are in the neigliboring 

 hills. On warm bright days in February and March their pleasing song 

 may be heard in every direction, and I have been informed that their nests 

 with eggs have been found here in the former month, placed in tamaracks 

 at a height of thirty or forty feet from the ground. The heavy pines and 

 firs collect and shed the snow to a considerable extent, often leaving a bare 

 spot around the base of the trunk Avhile between scattered trees the snow 

 may be one or two feet in depth. In these bare places, early in Mai-ch, 

 I have watched male and female Crossbills collect building material, both 

 pine needles and dead grasses, a constant habit being to do this at a con- 

 siderable distance from the nest for they always carried their loads out of 

 sight, though I have watched them, for several hundred yards when the 

 woods were open enough to permit this. During the latter part of sum- 

 mer there is a marked resumption of their song as heard in earlv spring. 

 Mr. Brewster informs me that specimens taken here are tvpical of the 

 former subspecies bendirei. 



*Leucosticte tephrocotis littoralis. — There is a specimen in a small 

 collection of birds in the local post oflice. Apparently an irregular fall 

 and winter visitant, known to many of the settlers from its tameness and 

 presence about farm yards. None were seen during the winters of 

 1894-95 and 1S95-96, although careful search was made by myself and 

 others. On November 3, 1S96, a flock of about fifty was seen on a hillside 

 near the fort. None Avere obtained, but they once flew vei^v near to me 

 and they were certainly not L. atrata, which Dr. Merriam found in the 

 southern part of the State. 



* Acanthis linaria. — A regular winter visitor, but varying greatly in its 

 abundance. Their numbers are much increased about the middle of March 

 by arrivals from the South. I have seen them as late as April 11. 



Spinus tristis. — A fairly common summer resident. 

 Spinus pinus. — Resident. In summer it occurs quite commonlv on 

 Mica Peak, from about 1500 feet above the lake to the summit. 



* Plectrophenax nivalis. — An irregular winter visitor, sometimes occur- 

 ring on the prairies in large flocks. 



*Calcarius lapponicus. — A single specimen taken November 13, 1S96. 



Poocaetes gramineus confinis. — Breeds sparingly. 



Ammodramus sandwichensis alaudinus. — Arriving early in May, it 



