BIRD RECORDS IN UPPER MISSOURI VALEEY 403 
41. Magpie. Pica hudsonia. Magpies seemed to be more 
numerous than usual during the winter of 1919-1920. There 
seems to be no way of determining at present whether these are 
Dakota birds which are driven south by the severity of the 
weather, or whether they have moved eastward in Nebraska 
along the Niobrara valley. Newspaper accounts indicated that 
Magpies were unusually numerous this winter in the vicinity 
of Ainsworth, along the Niobrara. 
The* Magpies were first brought to our attention on November 
28, 1919, when a male was sent in to Mr. Anderson from Da- 
kota City, Nebraska. It was later ascertained that this one was 
shot out of a flock of “two dozen or more” along the bluffs 
three or four miles north of Homer, Nebraska. Mr. Fred H. 
Schmidt, who sent the bird in, said that he had never seen that kind 
around there before ; although he saw one or two around his farm 
nearly every day for some time afterward. 
On January 4, 1920, Mr. Youngberg saw six Magpies at 
McCook Lake. On March 13, 1920, a female was sent to Mr. 
Anderson from Plainview, Nebraska, and mounted (No. 3578). 
42. Purple Finch. Carpodacus purpureus. This species has 
now been seen in the field during the month of November for 
the last three years. The 1917 record was previously reported. 
On November 3, 1918, the writer, with A. F. Allen, saw one fe- 
male near Stone Park. Mr. Allen saw a male on November 2, 
1919, at McCook Lake, South Dakota, and a pair on November 
23, 1919, in Dakota county, Nebraska. 
43. Red Crossbill. Loxia curvirostra minor. This rather ir- 
regular species was noted four times last winter. One male and 
three females were seen by Mr. Anderson in the north part of 
the city on October^ 18, 1919. On November 2, 1919, Mrs. H. 
M. Bailey and Miss Aiken saw two males and four females 
feeding on wild hemp seeds in the Cardinal Glen. On the same 
date Mr. Allen saw a male and a female at McCook Lake, the 
male having been shot. Again on February 29, 1920, Mr. Allen 
saw a male and three females in the vicinity of Stone Park. Miss 
Ada B. Wendell, of Smithland, Iowa, writes that “American 
Crossbills were seen last Saturday, April 10, 1920. 
44. White-winged Crossbill. Loxia leucoptera. The writer 
is also indebted to Miss Ada B. Wendell for the following record 
of occurrence at Smithland, Iowa. 
“The White-winged Crossbills were first seen at our place 
December 10, 1919, but were reported a week or two before that. 
