July, 1921 FROM FIELD AND STUDY 133 
The Hartequin Duck in Montana.—In the recent excellent “Distriputional List of 
the Birds of Montana” by Aretas A. Saunders (Pacific Coast Avifauna, no. 14, pp. 58-59), 
are given eight records of the occurrence of the Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histri- 
onicus), which seem to indicate that the species is rather generally dispersed in the 
state. Three of the localities mentioned, Chief Mountain Lake, Iceberg Lake and Upper 
Two Medicine Lake, are within the boundaries of the Glacier National Park. Incident- 
ally it may be noted that through a typographical error the reference for the Chiei 
Mountain Lake record is given as the American Naturalist instead of Coues’ “Birds ot 
the Northwest” where it was actually published. The second record, that of a pair of 
birds collected by G. H. Trook on the Hayden Survey in May, 1860, belongs to Wyoming 
east of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as explained in The Awk, vol. xxx, January, 1913, p.- 
and not to Montana. The locality where these birds were taken was in the mountains 
107. Trook who obtained the specimens was in Wyoming in May, although later in the 
season he worked in the Big Horn Mountains, Montana. This leaves Merrill’s record 
in the Big Horn Mountains, Sloanaker’s record for Flathead Lake south of the Park, 
Saunders’ record for Birch Creek, Teton County, and Thomas’ record for the West 
Gallatin River in the southern part of the state, as the only records outside the Park. 
Since Mr. Saunders’ manuscript was prepared, several additional records for the 
Park have been published, which may be found in Mrs. F. M. Bailey’s “Birds of Glacier 
National Park’, pp. 124-126, issued by the National Park Service in 1918. These rec- 
ords indicate the presence of the Harlequin Duck on Mineral Creek, McDonald Creek, 
North Fork of the Flathead, Grinnell Lake, in Olsen Valley, on Gunsight Lake and at 
McDermott Fails. At present, records for localities outside the Park are more desirable 
than ever—T. S. PatMeEr, Washington, D. C., May 8, 1921. 
Oklanoma Field Notes.—Protective Coloration in Gnatcatcher Nests. The Blue- 
gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea caerulea) in the vicinity of Tulsa, Oklahoma, 
normally nests in early May. Out of a large number of nests examined by me all but 
one were located in the common oak of this region. At the time of nesting the oak is 
always in leaf and the nests are placed in proximity to clusters of leaves. They are 
also always covered exteriorly with dark sooty gray lichens picked from the oak limbs 
and are evidently so decorated in order to be inconspicuous. Interiorly the nests are 
jined with dark-colored fibrous material and shreds of bark. On April 27, 1919, I found 
a nest which departed in every particular from the usual type. It was of course earlier 
in the season and the oaks were not as yet in good leaf. This nest was located high up 
in a siender fork of a small limb in an elm which had just completed budding. The 
nest was entirely decorated with the red-brown bud sheaths, brown lichens and brown 
fibrous material. Interiorly the color scheme had been carried out also by the use 
of red-brown spongy cotton-like material and some silky brown seed filaments from 
some weed. In addition there were several brown breast feathers of the Bobwhite and 
other softer feathers of unknown source. The eggs, five in number, were normal in 
size, shape and coloration. This nest was thus unusual in its early date, in its loca. 
tion in an elm, in the outer and inner coloration, and in being lined partially with feath- 
ers—I have never before seen a Gnatcatcher nest lined with feathers. It was in toto 
a beautifui example of protective coloration, as it blended extremely well with the brown 
bark of the young limbs of the elm. 
Dove Nesting in Thrasher Nest. On May 11, 1919, at Chanute, Kansas, I found 
a nest of the Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum rufum) containing two eggs and lo- 
cated a few feet above the ground in an osage orange tree. On May 16 I again visited 
the nest, intending to collect a full set, but was surprised when I arrived to note a Dove 
(Zenaidura macroura marginella) resting in the nest. On the Dove being flushed If 
found the nest to contain the original (supposedly) Thrasher eggs and in addition two 
Dove eggs! No later visits were made, so it was not learned what the ultimate dispo- 
sition of the four eggs and fledglings, if any, might have been. 
Abnormal Eggs of Crow. On March 20, 1921, while collecting near Tulsa, Okla- 
homa, in company with Mr. G. A. Abbott, we flushed a Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos 
brachyrhynchos) from its nest in a small pecan tree. My attention was immediately 
attracted to the large size of the Crew, for it was by far the largest individual I had 
ever seen. On climbing to the nest I found it to contain a fine set of five very large 
egzs. Upon measurement I find them to average 2.00 by 1.25 inches, which shows them 
to be slightly larger than the average egg of the Raven. The average size of Crow 
eggs is given as 1.60 by 1.15 inches. 
