12 
THE CONDOR 
I VOL. VI 
Afield at Flathead 
RV P. M. SIRLOWAV 
O N the morning of my arrival at the Universitj^ of Montana Biological 
Station at Bigfork, head of Flathead Lake, the presence of the long-tailed 
chat {Icter'ia virens longicaiida) was attested by its characteristic calls in 
the bush. The Station is at least seventy miles north of Selish, where I last ob- 
served this species. It appears that this chat is working its way northward in the 
Rocky Mountain region of Montana, and instead of limiting its range to southern 
Montana, we are safe in expecting its occurrence in suitable localities throughout 
the north-western part of the state. 
My collecting all the eggs (seven sets) in a small colony of the Holb(£ll grebe 
{^Colyrnbus ho/bcelli) at Swan Lake last season was severely criticized. My actions 
were compared to those of the professional plume hunter, and I was accused of 
leaving a “devastated bird colony” in my wake. This criticism caused me to un- 
dertake a second visit to Swan Lake this season for the purpose of determining the 
approximate effects of my collecting upon the aggregate grebe life of the swamp 
at that place, and at considerable personal expense I organized another expedition 
to that locality. In my defense I claimed that my operations in the swamp would 
have but little effect upon the outcome in the aggregate. I give my notes for 1903 
for what they are worth, believing that they will augment the fast accumulating 
mass of evidence to show that there is no occasion for misunderstanding between 
the conscientious oologist and the zealous bird protectionist. 
On June 18, three nests of the Holboell grebe were found, two of five eggs 
each, and one of four, all covered and apparently partially incubated. .‘\lso a nest 
containing one fresh egg. On June 19, another nest was found containing one 
fresh egg. The foregoing data show that at least five pairs were nesting in the 
swamp, as many as were nesting in the preceding season. On June 22, a nest was 
found containing five eggs, covered, and apparently quite advanced in incubation. 
Hence at one time the swamp contained six nests, three with five eggs each, one 
with four eggs, and two with two eggs each. It is evident that the balance of 
grebe life in this colony was not greatly disturbed by my collecting of 1902, and as 
many grebes were cackling in the tangle in 1903 as were tenanting the swamp in 
1902. The balance of bird life in nature is a mysterious fact. Why the same 
number of individuals or thereabout, will be found in the same area year after 
year, regardless of the natural increase or decrease, is an inexplicable matter. It 
is needless to say that in neither season did we kill any of the grebes, our depre- 
dations being limited to despoiling the nests as recorded. 
The Townsend warbler attracted my attention this season by its abundance. 
I had regarded this warbler as rather uncommon in the Flathead region, but this 
season it appeared to outrank any other warbler in numbers. During June, after 
our arrival, its song could be heard at all hours of the day. The warbler fre- 
quented the larger trees, such as tamarack and Douglas spruce, singing from a 
station above the middle of such a tree. The song resembles the syllables, “Reet, 
reet, reet, reet-er, ee-zee,” and can easily be identified by the regular ending 
“ee-zee,” in which the “ee” is accented and prolonged. The first week of July was 
rainy and chilly, and after that time I heard no more of the singing of this warbler. 
On June 15 I found a nest of the Townsend warbler {Deudroica townsendi). 
It was in a clump of small fir trees on a rocky ridge formed by a “fault” near the 
