^"iScs"*'] Mkkku.i., Hinh of Fort Sherman. Idaho. I 7 



bushes growiiiif in water; a favorite place is among tlie debris lodged in 

 a bush during high water of the previous year, where the nest is admira- 

 bly concealed and readil}' escapes notice. Two nests were found in 

 voung cottonwoods where a cluster of small branches grew out from 

 the main trunk. The nests, in whatever situation, are unusually large 

 for a Song Sparrow and composed chieti-y of dead leaves and strips of 

 Cottonwood bark, deeply cupped and lined witii liner materials of the 

 same general kind. The thirty-two eggs collected appear to average a 

 trifle larger than those of other subspecies of the Song Sparrow, and are 

 more uniformly greenish in their general appearance. Two broods are 

 raised ; live is the usual number of eggs in the first, three or four in the 

 second. As soon as the young are fledged these birds leave their nesting 

 haunts along the river and are to be found among the willow thickets on 

 the marsh. 



* Passerella iliaca schistacea — A rare migrant, taken in May. 

 Pipilo maculatus megalonyx. — Arriving in April, this bird is gener- 



allv but sparingly distributed during the summer. 



Zamelodia melanocephala. — Not uncommon. While examining a 

 nest with eggs on June 25, the male alighted on the bush and sang almost 

 continuouslv while I was there. 



Passerina amcena. — Not common. 



Piranga ludoviciana. — Arrive during the last week in May and are 

 quite common among pines during the migration, though but few breed 

 here. A nest found June 29 was in a small pine about thirty feet from 

 the ground and about six feet from the 'trunk, on a branch so slender 

 that it seemed as if the weight of the nest and sitting female would break 

 it. 



Petrochelidon lunifrons. — Common summer visitor, arriving about 

 the last of April and leaving suddenly about the middle of August. 



Chelidon erythrogaster. — Not observed about the fort or town during 

 the breeding season but occasionally seen about ranches near the prairie. 



* Tachycineta bicolor. — Arrive from the middle to the end of March, 

 according to the season, and breed abundantly in cottonwood trees 

 along the lake and river, forming quite a colonj- at the outlet of the 

 lake. 



Clivicola riparia. — -Many seen July 16 on the Coeur d'Alene River, the 

 low banks of which in places were perforated by their excavations. 

 Seerj only during migrations at the fort. 



Ampelis garrulus. — -An irregular winter visitor, taken in January and 

 March. 



Ampelis cedrorum. — Arriving irregularly in April and May, the Cedar 

 Bird becomes quite common by the end of the latter month and remains 

 until about the 20th of August. Unlike my previous experience with 

 this species in the West, it is here very tame. Several nests were found 

 in thorn bushes at the edge of the river; these were essentially alike in 

 construction and as compared with eastern ones, rather loose and bulky. 



