THE OOLOGIST 



is published in tlie September 1916 

 Zoological Society Bulletin published 

 by the New York Zoological Society, 

 the same being written by William 

 Beebe and illustrated by a most re- 

 markable series of photographs taken 

 by Mr. Beebe and Mr. Howes. 



Many other curious zoological speci- 

 mens were brought back and much 

 new information discovered, not the 

 least being the nesting of the Black- 

 necked Aracari Toucan, the nidifica- 

 tion of which was entirely unknown 

 before this trip. 



Mr. Howes kindly forwards the 

 Editor a personally taken set of one 

 egg of the Hoatzin, which, owing to its 

 extreme rarity, is much prized and 

 will surely have an honored place in 

 our cabinet. 



The New York Zoological Society is 

 to be congratulated upon being able 

 to connect with it a man like Howes. 

 A long time ago the Editor of this 

 magazine visited Mr. Howes while 

 then a boy at Stamford, Connecticut, 

 and was more than favorably im- 

 pressed with the prospects of a com- 

 ing naturalist. The productions we 

 have frequently made in The Oologist 

 regarding his future standing will 

 without doubt be fully realized; fail- 

 ing health along will prevent the 

 same. 



Some Nesting Birds of the Judith 



Basin, IVlontana. 



P. M. Silloway. 

 In reviewing my Montana note- 

 books, I find that I have a series of 

 notes yet unpublished, which include 

 descriptions of forty nests representa- 

 tive of the writer's spring observa- 

 tions during the last season of his 

 residence in Montana, the summer 

 being spent in the Flathead region 

 with the University of Montana bio- 

 logical station. These notes pertain 

 to the Judith Basin, Fergus County, 



and since ecological conditions have 

 not materially changed in the interim, 

 the notes are herewith presented as 

 a contribution to the avi-faunal knowl- 

 edge of that interesting locality. 



The Judith Basin is a large area, 

 much too large to be dealt with com- 

 prehensively in an ornithological 

 journal. It is the valley of the Judith 

 River, and occupies about the west- 

 ern third of Fergus County, say at 

 least 1,500 square miles. The prin- 

 cipal sources of the Judith are in the 

 Belt Mountains and in the Big Snow- 

 ies. Along the eastern side of the 

 Basin are the two groups of Moccasin 

 Mountains. In the Judith Gap, be- 

 twen the Belts and the Snowies, one 

 recognized head of the Judith is very 

 near the head of the Musselshell 

 river, the latter flowing eastward to 

 meet the Yellowstone while the Judith 

 flows northward to meet the Missouri 

 river. The altitude of Judith Gap is 

 4,650 feet, and the elevation of the 

 Basin decreases from that to about 

 3,000 feet at the Missouri river. 



There are two aspects of the Judith 

 Basin worth mention, the dry prairies 

 and the creek bottoms, for we shall 

 regard the mountains as external to 

 the Basin itself. The prairies are the 

 dominant features of the basin, and 

 the creek bottoms are secondary; 

 both prairies and bottoms, however, 

 have their characteristic phases of di- 

 versity, which can not be here des- 

 cribed at length. The sides of the 

 Basin, as it extends north and south, 

 are intersected by deep ravines or 

 coulees, formed by small water- 

 courses from the mountains on their 

 way to join the Judith, and these ra- 

 vines support thickets of haw, willow, 

 buffalo-berry, and choke-cherry; while 

 the lower stream-beds are fringed by 

 willow and cotton woods. The prairies 

 form a series of benches or terraces 

 rising gradually from the main water- 



