AUTHOR’S EDITION. 
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. 
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY 
F. V. HAYDEN, U. S. Geologist-in-Charge. 
FIELD HOTES 
ON 
BIRDS 
OBSERVED IN DAKOTA AND MONTANA ALONG THE 
FORTY-NINTH PARALLEL 
DURING THR 
SEASONS OF 1873 AND 1874. 
Dr. ELLIOTT COUE8, U. S. A., 
LATE SURGEON AND NATURALIST U. S. NORTHERN BOUNDARY COMMISSION, 
EXTRACTED FROM THE BULLETIN OF THE SURVEY. Vol. IV. No. 3. 
Washington, July 29, 1878. ART. XXV.—FIELD-NOTES ON BIRDS OBSERVED IN DAKOTA 
AND MONTANA ALONG THE FORTY-NINTH PARALLEL 
DURING THE SEASONS OF 1873 AND 1874.* 
By Dr. Elliott Coues, U. S. A., \ 
Late Surgeon and Naturalist U. S. Northern Boundary Comm 
The following notes result from observations made in the field duftriig 
my connection with the Uuited States Northern Boundary Commission— 
Archibald Campbell, Esq., Commissioner, Major W. J. Twining, Corps of 
Engineers, U. S. A., Chief Astronomer. The line surveyed by the Com- 
mission in 1873 and 3874 extended from the lied River of the North 
to the Rocky Mountains, a distance of 850 miles, along the northern 
border of the Territories of Dakota and Montana, in latitude 49° north. 
During the season of 1873, I took the field at Pembina, on the Red 
River, early in June, and in the course of the summer passed along the 
Line nearly to the Coteau de Missouri, returning from the Souris or 
Mouse River via Fort Stevenson and the Missouri to Bismarck. This 
season’s operations were entirely on the parallel of 49°, and in the water- 
shed of the Mouse aud Red Rivers, my principal collecting-grounds 
being Pembina, Turtle Mountain, and the Mouse River. This region, 
of the northerly waters is sharply distinguished geographically and 
topographically, as well as zoologically, from the Missouri and Milk River 
Basin, which I entered the following year. In 1874, I began at Fort 
Buford, at the mouth of the Yellowstone, travelled northwesterly to 49°, 
which was reached at Frenchman’s River, one of the numerous tribu- 
taries of Milk River, and thence along the parallel to the Rocky Mount 
ains at Waterton or Chief Mountain Lake and other headwaters of 
the Saskatchewan; returning back on the Line to Three Buttes or Sweet- 
grass Hills, thence direct to Fort Benton, Montana, and thence by a boat 
voyage down the Missouri to Bismarck. In neither season was much 
collecting done except along the parallel itself; and the operations of 
each season were in a region sharply distinguished, as I have said, by 
its faunal peculiarities. From these two broad belts of country, cor- 
responding at 49° nearly to the Territories of Dakota and Montana 
respectively, is to be set apart a third, that of the Rocky Mountains 
alone. 
I made an elaborate comparison of the faunal characters of these three 
[*For articles on other portions of the same writer’s collection, see this Bulletin, 
this Vol., No. 1, pp. 259-292, and No. 2, pp. 481-51©.—Ed.] 546 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAE SURVEY. 
regions with reference to anticipated publication in connection with the 
official report of the United States Boundary Commission; but the 
present is hardly the place to present these considerations in detail. 
I may, however, state that my results agree closely with those derived 
from the geological investigations made by Mr. George M. Dawson, my 
colleague of the British contingent of the Survey, whose valuable Report 
should be consulted in this connection, and that they are in striking 
accord with what would be the geographer’s or the topographer’s con- 
sideration. 
1. Red River region, or watershed of the lied and Mouse Rivers. At 
40° this extends westward along the northern border of Dakota, nearly 
to Montana,—to the point where the Coteau crosses the Line. The bird- 
fauna of this region is decidedly Eastern in character,—much more so 
than that of the portion of the Missouri Basin which lies south of it and no 
further west. It is well distinguished, both by this Eastern facies and by 
the absence of the species which mark the Missouri region. The region 
consists of more or less (nearly in direct ratio as we pass westward) ler- 
tile prairie, treeless except along the streams, cut by the two principal 
river-valleys, the Red and the Mouse, crossed by the low range of the 
Pembina Mountains, and marked by the isolated butte known as Turtle 
Mountain. It is bounded to the west and south by the Coteau,—a com- 
paratively very slight ridge, which nevertheless absolutely separates 
the two great watersheds. The Red River flows nearly due north; the 
Mouse River makes a great horseshoe bend, at first directed toward the 
Missouri, which it almost reaches before it is “bluffed off”, literally,and 
sent northward.* The bird fauna of Pembina and the whole immediate 
Red River Valley is thoroughly Eastern. The only Western trace I ob- 
served was Spizclla pallida and some Icteridce, especially Scolecophagus 
cyanoccplialus; though Sturnclla neglecta and Xanthoccplialm icterocepha- 
lus are both common prairie birds much further east, as Pcdicecetes co- 
lumbianus also is. Characteristic mammals are Spermophilus 1 o-lineatus, 
/S'. franlclini, Tamias quadrivittatus, Thoniomys talpoides, and the rare 
Onychomys lencogasler. Out on the prairie, beyond the Pembina Mount- 
ains, this region is distinguished by the profusion cl' several very nota- 
ble birds,—Antlius spraguii, Plectropkanes ornalus, Passer cuius bairdi, aud 
Eremopldla leucolxma, all breeding, none of them observed at Pembina. 
Here also was found Coturniculus lecontii. This treeless area is fur- 
ther marked by the absence of sundry birds common enough in the 
heavily-timbered Red River Valley, as Empidonaces, Vireones, Antrosto■ 
* Fort Pembina is situated ou the Red River, latitude 49° nearly ; longitude 9?° 13, 
42" west; altitude 790 feet above sea-level. The Pembina Mountains, well wooded, 
with a maximum elevation of about 1,700 feet, lie 35 miles west of the Red River, 
forming an escarpment which separates the low immediate valley of the Red River 
from the next higher prairie steppe, which reaches to the Cotean. Turtle Mountain is 
an isolated, heavily-wooded butte, 125 miles west of Pembina, with an elevation of 
about 2,000 feet above sea-level, lying directly on the parallel of 49°. Our camp, at 
its west base, was in longitude 109° 307 41.1", distant 149.25 miles from Pembina along 
the parallel. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
547 
m us voc ferns, Turdus pallasi, Geo Oily pis Philadelphia, Goniaphca ludovi- 
ciana, Sctophaga ruticilla, and many others. Spermophilus richardsoni 
begins in this region, aud 8. franklini and doubtless Onychomys end 
here. There are Badgers in plenty and a few Antelopes; there were no 
Buffalo in 1873, though the country was still scored with their trails, 
and skeletons were plenty from the Mouse River westward. This region 
is still more strongly marked by the absence of the Missouri specialties. 
2. The Missouri region, or the great watershed of the Missouri and 
Milk Rivers. As soon as we cross the Coteau, the whole aspect of the 
country chauges, and there is a marked difference in the fauna. We 
enter a much more sterile and broken region, absolutely treeless except- 
ing along the larger water-courses, full of “ bad lands”, with much sage- 
brush,—such country stretching, with scarcely any modification, to the 
base of the Rockies. In this latitude, the Milk River is the maiu artery, 
with many north-south affluents crossing 49°. The characteristic mam- 
mals are the Buffalo (first seen in 1874 in the vicinity of Frenchman’s 
River), Antelope, Prairie and Sage Hares [LL. campestris and sylvaticus 
var. nuttalli), the Prairie “ Gophers” (Spermophilus richardsoni, in extra- 
ordinary abundance), and Prairie “Hogs” (Cynomys ludovicianus), some 
of these being perfectly distinctive of the Missouri as compared with 
the Red River region. Putorius longicauda is the Ermine of this region. 
Kit Foxes (Vulpes velox) are common, but so they are along the Mouse 
River. The characteristic birds are Calamospiza bicolor, Tyrannus ver- 
licalis, Plecfrophanes maccoicni, Pica hudsonica, ISpeotyto hypogcca, Centro- 
cerctis.urophasianus (diagnostic of the region, like the mammal Cynomys 
ludovicianus, or the reptiles Phrynosoma douglassi and Crotalus conjlucn- 
tus), and Eudromias montanus. Few, if any, distinctively Eastern birds 
extend across or even into this region. Plcctrophanes ornatus goes to 
the mountains, but in diminished numbers; one specimen of Neocorys 
was taken near the mountains, but neither Passerculus bairdi nor Cotur- 
niculus lecontii was observed; Eremophila continues in full force. 
The Svveetgrass Hills, or Three Buttes, are the most considerable out- 
liers of the Rocky Mountains, along the parallel of 49°, quite isolated 
on the prairie. I noticed no avian specialties here, but Mountain Sheep 
were comparatively abundant (as they were also along the bluff's of tho 
Missouri River, above the mouth of the Yellowstone), and the Yellow- 
haired Porcupine, Eretliizon cpixanihus, was numerous. 
3. Roclcy Mountain region.—Rising gradually and, of course, imper- 
ceptibly, the Missouri region maintains its features to the very foot 
of the mountains, the headwaters of the Milk River being prairie 
streams, sluggish, warm, and muddy, with much alkaline detritus. The 
divide between this, watershed and that of the Saskatchewan is too 
slight to be recognized as such by an inexperienced eye; on passing it, 
wo strike the cleat, cold, turbulent stiearns from the mountains, abound- 
ing in tialmonidcc, and soon enter the woods. This region is strongly 
marked, not only by “ Western ” species, in the geographer’s sense, but 548 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
by Alpine forms, strangers to lower altitudes at the same latitude, by 
exclusively arboreal forms, and by abrupt disappearance of the prairie 
types mentioned in the preceding paragraph. The marks of the region, 
as compared with the prairie, are unmistakable. We here find Lagomys 
princeps (down to 4,500 feet), Tamias lateralis, Sciurus hudsonius var., 
Neotoma cinerea, Arctomys Jlaviventris, among mammals ; large game 
was scarce,—a few deer (C. virginianus), a bear or two, and an alleged 
Aploccros montanus. There were no live Buffalo, but plenty of skulls 
and skeletons far into the mountains. Among notable birds may be 
mentioned Cinclus mexicanus, Dendrceca audubani, Geo tidy pis maegilliv- 
rayi, Ampelis garrulus, doubtless breeding !, Perisoreus canadensis, Empi- 
donax hammondi, E. obscurus, Selasphorus rvfus, Pious liarrisi, Asyndes- 
mus torguatus, the two Alpine Grouse, Tetrao franklini and T. richardsoni 
(together with Pedicecetes, which pervades all three regions), Encephala 
islandica (breeding), and Eistrionicus torquatus (breeding). 
Some of the more conspicuous birds of the three regions, or of any 
one of them, may be tabulated in the following form. The implication 
in each case is simply my own observations, not the known general 
range of the species. All the species in this table, doubtless even Ampe- 
lis garrulus, were on their breeding-grounds, excepting a very few 
migrants seen early in June at Pembina. 
Red River region. 
Missouri region. 
a 
c« 
"3 . 
§i 
3 3 
a 
1 
Red River region. 
Missouri region 
a 
3 
a 
C? 0 
& u 
o-.g 
M * 
§ 
« 
x 
x 
x 
x 
X 
x 
x 
x 
x 
x 
x 
x 
X 
x 
x 
X 
x 
x 
x 
x 
x 
X 
x 
x 
x 
x 
x 
x 
x 
x 
x 
x 
X 
x 
X 
x 
x 
x 
x 
x 
1 
x 
X 
x 
x 
x 
? 
x 
x 
x 
x 
X 
x 
x 
x 
x 
x 
x 
X 
X 
x 
x 
x 
x 
? 
x 
x 
? 
x 
x 
x 
1 
x 
x 
x 
X 
x 
x 
x 
Pica liudsouica 
X 
X 
Histrionic us torqualus 
X 
The list herewith is restricted to the birds actually observed and 
generally shot. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
549 
There remains the agreeable duty of witnessing the ready and unvary- 
ing courtesy extended to the Naturalist of the Commission by Mr. Camp- 
bell and Major Twining, who sought to aid by all means in their power 
the scientific interests he had in charge; and by Captain W. F. Gregory, 
Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., to whose party he was attached during 
the season of 1874. 
TUBDUS (PLANESTICUS) MIGBATOBIUS, Linn. 
The Bobin. 
Found in abuudance at Pembina, where it was breediug iu the wooded 
river bottom. In this latitude, the eggs are generally laid during tho 
middle and latter parts of Juue, and I scarcely think that more thau ouo 
brood is reared annually. Further westward the species seems to occur 
chiefly during the migrations, as most of the country is unsuited to its 
wauts. In September, large numbers were observed in the fringes of 
trees along the Mouse Biver. During the secoud season, the birds were 
again found on the Upper Missouri Biver and iu the Bocky Mountains. 
On the whole, the species is much less numerous, excepting in the 
immediate valley of the Bed Biver, thau it is iu settled and wooded 
portions of the United States, and probably none pass the winter iu 
this latitude. 
List of specimens. 
A 
"o 
O 
<£ 
CC 
Locality. 
Collector. 
Length. 
V 
H 
W 
tb 
a 
% 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2953 
2954 
2985 
3117 
3126 
3130 
3131 
3756 
9 
Pembina, Dak 
do 
June 12,1873 
do 
Elliott Cones. 
Skin. 
June 14,1873 
June 22,1873 
June 23,1873 
June 24,1873 
do 
Egg. 
Three eggs. 
Nest with 5 eggs. 
Nest: young in al- 
cohoL 
Skin. 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Sept. 16,1873 
. ...do 
ri’RDUS (I1YL0CICIILA) PALLASr, Cab. 
Hermit Thrush. 
The Hermit Thrush was not observed during the Survey until toward 
the clore of the second season, when specimens were taken in the Bocky 
Mountains near Chief Mountain Lake, under circumstances which left 
no doubt of its breeding in the vicinity. As it is, however, a common 
species of wide distribution in North America, it is doubtless to be 
found, like the Bobin, wherever timber grows, along the line of tho 
Northern Boundary. 550 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
V 
Ifl 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
fcb 
a 
k 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4531 
4600 
.... 
Rocky klonn tains, 
lilt itudo 49°. 
do 
Aug. 20,1874 
Aug. 25,1874 
Elliott Coucs. 
do 
Skin. 
....do. 
TUKDtJS (HYLOOICULA) SWAINSONI, Gab. 
Olive-backed Thrush. 
The remarks made under head of the last species* with regard to 
geographical distribution, are equally applicable to the present one. It 
was only observed, however, in September, during the general autumnal 
migration, in the slight fringe of trees along the stream where I was 
collecting at tha time. In a country so nearly treeless as is the tract 
lying between the Red River and the Rocky Mountains, the slightest 
pieces of woodland are eagerly sought by all the migrants as stopping- 
places for food and rest. Though at other seasons tenanted by few 
species, they become populous iu the fall by the presence of great 
numbers of small insectivorous and granivorous species, among which 
the Turd'idce, Sylricolidce, and Fringillidoe are conspicuous. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
& 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
tb 
p 
£ 
Nat ure of specimen 
and remarks. 
3759 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Sept. 16,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
7.50 
12.10 
3.60 
Skin. 
TURDUS (HYLOCICHLA) FUSCESCENS, Steph. 
Veery, or Wilson’s Tiirush. 
Unlike either of the preceding species, the Veerv does not appear to 
extend westward beyond the Valley of the Red River,—at any rate, it 
was only observed in the vicinity of Pembina. Here it was found 
breeding in abundance during the mouth of June, when its exquisite 
song eidivened the tangled recesses of the wooded liver-bottom, in 
which the timid birds secreted themselves, and formed one of the most 
characteristic pieces of bird-melody to be heard in that ill-favored 
locality. A nest was found on the 9th of June, containing four fresh 
eggs, uniform, blui h green in color, and measuring about 0.86 in length 
by 0.66 in diameter. It was placed upon a small heap of decayed leaves 
which had been caught ou the foot stalks of a bush a few inches from 
the ground, and composed of weed-stems, grasses, and fibrous bark- 
strips, woven together, and mixed with withered leaves. The walls were COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
551 
thick, giving a bulky, irregular, and rather slovenly appearance, and 
causing tbe cavity to appear comparatively small,—it was only about 
2£ inches in diameter by less than 2 inches in depth, though the whole 
uest was as large as a child’s head. 
List of specimens. 
o 
'A 
6 
H 
ZJ 
m 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
tt 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2927 
2055 
2978 
9 
Pembina, Dak 
June 9,1873 
June 12,1873 
June 14,1873 
Elliott Coues 
Skin, with nest anti 
Skin688' 
7. 75 
12.25 
MIMTJS CAROLINENSIS, {Linn.) Gray. 
Catbird. 
The Catbird was ascertained to be one of the common species of the 
Red River region, where it was breeding in June, in situations similar 
to those it selects in the East. 1 traced it westward to Turtle Mountain, 
but did not observe it again in the Rocky Mountains, where its presence 
was to have been expected. It is also a rather common species on the 
Upper Missouri and the northern affluents of this and of the Milk River. 
The Missouri appears to be tbe highway by which the species gains the 
Rocky Mountains, as observed by Dr. Hayden. The naturalists of the 
Northwest Boundary Commission collected specimens in Washington 
Territory, and Sir John Richardson has left a record of its occurrence 
in the Saskatchewan region as far north as latitude 54° north. As at 
Pembina, the bird was breeding in June in the shrubbery along tbe 
Upper Missouri and its tributaries. 
List of specimens, 
Coll. No. 
A 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
. 
he 
p 
£ 
Nature of specimen 
and remarks. 
2958 
3001 
3114 
3127 
3217 
3352 
4024 
4025 
June 13,1873 
Juno 19,1873 
June 22,1873 
Juno 23,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
Nest with 4 eggs. 
Nest with 2 eggs. 
Three eggs. 
Two eggs. 
Nest with 5 eggs. 
Skin. 
Skin ; nest with 3 
eggs. 
Skin. 
.... 
Turtle Mountain, 
L)ak. 
Big Muddy River, 
Mont. 
do 
J uly 23,1873 
June 22,1874 
....do 
do 
HARPORHYNCHUS RUFUS, {Linn.) Cab. 
Thrasher, or Brown Thrush, 
Observed at Pembina, which appears to be near the northern limit of 
the distribution of this species. In other latitudes, however, it extends 552 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
further westward, having been found by earlier expeditions in various 
portions of Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado. It is one of 
the species of Turdidce which does not appear to leave the United States 
in winter, as we have no West Indian or Central American quotations. 
It breeds in suitable localities anywhere within general range. A nest 
containing four eggs was found at Pembina late in June. 
During the second season, the species was observed on the Missouri 
above Port Buford. 
List of specimens 
Coll. No. 
• 
cr. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
| Extent. 
tt 
8 
£ 
Mat ure of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3084 
Pembina, Dak 
Near Fort Buford, 
Dak. 
.lune 21,1873 
July —, 1874 
Elliott Cones 
do 
Nest with 4 eggs. 
(Not preserved.) 
C1NCLUS MEXICAN US, Sic. 
American Dipper, or Water Ouzel. 
During the tedious march through the monotonous country of the 
Milk Iiiver, when little was to be looked for that had not already been 
found, I daily indulged pleasant anticipations of change for the better, 
in the new and more varied features of the avifauna which I should 
meet on entering the mountains. I was particularly desirous of finding 
the Dipper,—a bird that in former years had given me the slip when l 
was crossing the mountains of New Mexico and Arizona. Nor was 1 
disappointed ; the most favorable conditions of the bird’s existence are 
met in the many crystal cascades, fed by the snow-capped peaks that 
form Chief Mountain Lake,—a beautiful sheet of water environed by pre- 
cipitous mountains, debouching with a tortuous course into one of the 
many clear streams that unite to form the Saskatchewan. Nor was this 
romantic spot the home of the Dipper alone, among the more interesting 
forms of animal life. The Bohemian Waxwing was breeding here, many 
degrees of latitude further south than had been known before. So was 
the Harlequin Duck, like the Waxwing then for the first time ascer- 
tained to rear its young within the limits of the United States. Bar- 
row’s Golden Eye and other species, to me, at least, extremely interest 
ing, were here first encountered, as more fully noted in other portions 
of this narrative. 
At the time of my visit, it was too late to look for the nest or eggs of 
the Dipper, as the young were already on wing; that they were bred in 
the immediate vicinity, at an altitude of only about 4,000 feet, was evi- 
dent from the immature condition of the specimens examined. 
My observations upon the habits of the species were too limited to 
enable me to add anything to the account, compiled from various sources, 
which was published in the “Birds of the Northwest”. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
553 
List of specimens, 
6 
*A 
-j 
o 
O 
X 
D 
eft 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
.S 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4545 
Rocky Mountains, 
latitude 49°. 
Aug. 21,1874 
Elliott Couea. 
Skin. 
SIALIA AKCTICA, Sic, 
Rocky Mountain Bluebird. 
The Northern Boundary appears to be slightly beyond the limit of 
distribution of the Eastern Bluebird, since the species was not ob- 
served at Pembina, where the avifauna is almost entirely Eastern iu its 
composition. The Western Bluebird, 8. mexicana, is still further re- 
moved from the region now under consideration. The third and only 
Other species of this country has a more northerly distribution than 
either of the others, reaching to about latitude 01° or 65° north; it is 
found from the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, 
and in some localities is very abundant. A few individuals were ob- 
served by the Commission in the Rocky Mountains, at Chief Mountain 
Lake, but no specimens were preserved. Its habits are much the same 
as those of its well-kuowu Eastern cougener. 
REGULUS CALENDULA, Liclit. 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet. 
This species, of general distribution throughout the wooded portions 
of North America, was observed on Mouse lliver, in September, during 
the autumnal migration, frequenting the dense undergrowth of the 
river-bottom in company with Helminthopliaga celata and Dendrceca 
coronata. In its spring and autumn movements, it undoubtedly passes 
the several wooded poiuts of the line, and may yet be found breeding 
in the mountains in this latitude. 
Its nest and eggs long remained among the special desiderata of 
American ornithologists. So far as known, no authentic specimens 
reached our hands until two or three years ago, when Mr. J. H. Batty, 
then attached to Dr. Hayden’s Survey, discovered a nest in Colorado, 
July 21,1873. It was placed on a spruce bough, about 15 feet from 
the ground, and contained live young and one egg. The structure, 
which I have examined at the Smithsonian, is larger than such a tiny 
architect would be expected to produce, and consists of a loosely blended 
mass of hair and feathers, mixed with moss and short pieces of straw. 
Other observers, notably Mr. T. M. Trippe, had previously indicated the 
undoubted breeding of the species iu the higher wooded portions of 
Colorado, which is confirmed by the discovery of this nest. 554 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
It is a very curious fact, in the history of this'genus, that a variety of 
Eegulus calendula, or a very closely allied species, should be among the 
few resident birds which constitute the isolated fauna of the island of 
Guadeloupe, 200 miles south of San Diego, Cal. 
PARUS ATRICAPILLUS SEPTENTRIONALIS, Harris. 
Long-tailed Chickadee. 
An abundant resident of the region of the Upper Missouri, in all 
suitable situations; but neither this nor any other species of the genus 
was noticed in the Red River Valley. It is the characteristic form of 
the whole Rocky Mountain region from the Fur Countries into Mexico, 
where it is the only representative of tho genus, excepting P. montanus. 
Detailed measurements of a series of specimens of this disputed form, 
for comparison with those of P. atricapillus, will be found in my work 
already quoted. These were carefully made in the flesh, at Fort Ran- 
dall, during the winter of 1872-73. The average length was found to 
be 5.50 inches; the wing, 2.40 to 2.75; and the tail, 2.G0 to 2.80. 
A specimen procured at Chief Mountain Lake is preserved among 
the collections of the Commission. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
| Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
u 
a 
£ 
Na ture of spec'men, 
and lemarks. 
4G34 
.... 
Rocky Mountains, 
lat. 40°. 
Aug. 28,1874 
Elliott Coues 
Skin. 
TROGLODYTES AEDON, ViciU. 
House Wren 
Observed as far west as the confines of the Missouri Coteau. Tho 
westernmost specimens, as well as those from tlie immediate valley of 
the Red River, appear to be typical a'edon. The Eastern form has also 
occasionally been met with in the Missouri region itself; though there 
the prevailing type is the var. parJcmanni. 
On the Red River, in June, the species was breeding very abundantly 
in the neighborhood of the fort and town of Pembina. 
Lint of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
•X'S 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
a 
W 
fci> 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2791 
3104 
3115 
3132 
3173 
3727 
3744 
Pembina, Dak 
do 
.. do 
,Tline 2,1873 
June 2.’, Is73 
Elliott Couoe 
do 
do 
do 
...do 
4. 90 
6. 70 
*••• 
Skin. 
do. 
Nine eggs (2 sets). 
Nest wit h 5eggs. 
Five eggs. 
Skin. 
do. 
June 24,1873 
June 26,1873 
Sept, 3,1873 
Sept. 11,1873 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Long Coteau River, 
Dak. 
-...do 
do 
5.00 
0.75 
:::::: COUES ON BIRDS OP DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
555 
CISTOTHORUS STELLARIS, (Licht.) Cab. 
Short billed Marsh Wren. 
The present is one of a few species of general distribution in the East- 
ern Province, which appears much more abundant along its line of 
migration in the Mississippi Valley than on the Atlantic coast. In the 
East, the species does not appear to have beeD observed beyond Southern 
New England. The present specimens, secured at Pembina in June, 
and later in the season along the Mouse River, are the northernmost on 
record, probably representing about the limit of its distribution in this 
rjmirter. The species has been observed westward to the Loup Fork of 
the Platte. I found the birds to be rather plentiful along the Red River, 
in low, oozy ground overgrown with scrub willows, and also in the 
reedy sloughs of the prairie. They were undoubtedly breeding here, 
though no nests were secured. 
List of specimens. 
6 
ft 
c 
O 
H 
o 
02 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2910 
3451 
d* 
Pembina, Dak 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
June 4,1873 
Aug. 9,1813 
Elliott Coties 
do 
4.50 
5.15 
Skin. 
TELMATODYTES PALUSTBIS, (Wih.) Cab. 
Long-billed Marsh Wren, 
This species was not observed till we reached the Rocky Mountains, 
when a few were seen on marshy ground near Chief Mountain Lake. 
It is, however, of undoubted occurrence in suitable situations along the 
Line. 
EREMOPHILA ALPESTR1S LEUCOL.EMA, Cones. 
Western Horned Lark. 
One of the most interesting points in the history of the Horned Lark 
is its peculiar distribution during the breeding-season. Its breeding- 
range is in no way related to zones of latitude, nor yet is it determined 
by altitude, but by the topographical features of the country. It rarely, 
if ever, stops to breed along the Atlantic coast so far south as New 
England, where the surface of the country is not adapted to its peculiar 
wants. It is stated to occasionally nest in portions of Canada West; 
but it is not until we reach the valley of the uppermost Mississippi, in 
a broad sense, that we find the bird regularly breeding within the United 
States. I am informed by Mr. W. K. Leute, who accompanied the expe- 
dition during the season of 1873, that it nests in Wisconsin, near Racine, 
laying about the middle of April, even before the snow is off the ground. 556 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
From the lied River and corresponding longitude, west to the Rocky 
Mountains, it breeds in profusion, and during the greater part of the 
year it is, without exception, the most abundant, universally diffused, 
and characteristic species of the prairie avifauna. Numerous specimens 
were taken, not only along the parallel of 49°, but also on the Missouri 
and Milk Rivers, and the species accompanied our line of march into 
the mountains. The individuals bred in this dry and sterile region are 
usually lighter-colored than those of better-watered areas, and are those 
which I have designated by the term leucolccma, in indication of a slight 
geographical differentiation. 
The Horned Lark is one of the few species which, in this latitude, usu- 
ally rear at least two broods each season,—a fact which in part accounts 
for the preponderance of individuals over those of the species with w hich 
they are associated. I have already adverted to the extremely early 
nesting-time which has been ascertained, and have only to add that the 
period of reproduction is protracted through July. I have observed 
young birds on the wing in June, and found fresh eggs in the nest dur- 
ing the latter half of July. In fact, all through the summer months 
the troops of Larks everywhere to be seen consist of old birds mixed 
with the young in all stages of growth. The great flocks, however, are 
not usually made up until the end of the summer, when all the young 
are full-grown, and the parents, having concluded the business of rear- 
ing their young, have changed their plumage. The young of the first 
brood soon lose the peculiar speckled plumage with which they are at 
first covered; the later ones change about the time the feathers of the 
old birds are being renewed. The agreeable warbling song is scarcely 
to be heard after June. 
While it is not probable that any of these birds endure the full rigors 
of winter in the exposed country of this latitude, I am unable to say 
when they retreat. They continue abundant until October, and prob- 
ably only retreat before the severe storms of the following month, to 
return again in March, if not in February. It is brave and hardy, one 
of the few birds that weather the terrible storms that usually prevail in 
April in the Missouri region. 
The nest of the Horned Lark may be stumbled upon anywhere on the 
open prairie. It is a slight affair,—merely a shallow depression in the 
ground, lined with a few dried grass-stems. The eggs are four or five in 
number, measuring nearly an inch in length by about three-fifths in 
breadth; they are very variable in contour. The color is well adapted 
to concealment in the gray-brown nest, being nearly the color of the with- 
ered materials upon which they rest, thickly and uniformly dotted with 
light brown. The eggs and young birds, like those of other small spe- 
cies nesting on the ground in this region, often become the prey of the 
foxes, badgers, and weasels, if not also of the gophers. 
The Horned Lark is a sociable bird, not ouly highly gregarious with 
its own kind, but one that mixes indiscriminately with several other spe- 557 
COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
cies, as Sprague’s Lark, the Savanna Sparrow, Baird’s, Maccown’s, and 
the Chestnut-collared Buntings, all of which are abundant birds of the 
same region. 
List of specimens. 
© 
o 
O 
Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
u 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen 
and remarks. 
Sept, 1-2 1873 
Skin. 
3855 
....do ’ 
Oct. 1,1873 
do 
7.00 
13.90 
4.50 
... .do. 
385C 
do 
7.40 
13.75 
4. 50 
do. 
3857 
7.30 
13.50 
4.30 
do. 
4007 
Porcupine R., Mont 
Juno 20,1874 
do 
Skin. ha iry (young) 
4150 
July 7, 1874 
Mont. 
4151 
4157 
....do. 
4158 
......do’ 
4159 
4245 
Q 
July 18,1874 
Mont. 
eggs, same No.). 
4246 
Skin. 
4247 
do 
4252 
July 21,1874 
River, Mont. 
4253 
4323 
Sweetgrass Hills, 
Aug. 6,1K74 
J. H. Batty... 
6.50 
14.75 
4. 00 
do. 
Mont. 
4335 
West of Sweetgrass 
Aug. 7,1874 
Elliott Coues 
Hills, Mont. 
4345 
Aug. 8,1874 
4423 
•Au'r. 12, 1874 
4424 
do .... 
4404 
Aug. 15,1874 
Mont 
4470 
4021 
Rocky Mts., latitude 
Aug. 26,1874 
J. H. Batty... 
49°. 
4600 
West of Sweetgrass 
Aug. 30,1874 
....do 
Hills. 
4667 
4668 
4669 
4674 
do .. 
4682 
Auer. 31.1874 
4683 
_<lo . .. 
...do. 
4084 
do .. 
4686 
46H7 
4688 
do .. 
4689 
4690 
do 
do 
ANTHUS LUDOVICIANUS, (Gm.) Licht. 
Titlark, or Pipit. 
In tlio general area surveyed by the Commission, the Titlark appears 
to be only a bird of passage, in spring and autumn. During the first 
season I accompanied the Survey, none were observed until September, 
when, with arrival of various other species from the north, they made 
their appearance in considerable numbers along the Mouse River. The 
following season, however, I found them in August about Chief Mount- 
ain Lake, and do not doubt that those then observed were bred in the 
immediate vicinity, as at that time the fall migration had not com- 
menced. In the Eastern Province, the Pipit agrees closely with the 
Horned Lark in its distribution during the breeding-season; in the 558 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
West, however, the case is reversed, the altitudes at which it nestles 
being complementary to the latitude it elsewhere seeks for the same 
purpose. It nests abundantly in the Bocky Mountains, above timber- 
line, along with the Ptarmigan, as first determined by Mr. J. A. Allen, 
aud subsequently very fully set forth by Mr. T. M. Trippe, at pp. 231, 
232, of the “Birds of the Northwest”. Its general habits as observed in 
the West furnish no occasion for special comment. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
O 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and lotnurks. 
3704 
4038 
4639 
.... 
Mouse Liver, Dak .. 
Kooky Mountains, 
latitude 49°. 
...do 
Sept. 2.1«73 
Aug. 29,1874 
Elliott Couts 
...do 
6. CO 
L0. 40 
3. 20 
Skin. 
....do. 
...do. 
NEOCORYS SPRAGUII, (Aud.) Scl. 
Missouri Skylark. 
This very interesting bird, which in this country represents the cele- 
brated Skylark of Europe, was discovered by Audubon in 1843, during 
his trip to the Upper Missouri. Ilis type specimen, secured at Fort 
Union, June 19, is still preserved in the National Museum, having been 
among the many rare or unique specimens presented by him many years 
ago to Professor Baird. For about twenty yea s, no other specimens 
were forthcoming, and little, if anything more, was heard of the bird until 
an English officer, Captain Blakiston, met with it in considerable numbers 
in the Saskatchewan region, and contributed an account of its habits, as 
observed by him, to the “ Ibis”, then, as now, one of the very few journals 
devoted to ornithology. One of his specimens, like Audubon’s original, 
reached the Smithsonian Institution, and remained until recently the 
only duplicate known to exist in any American collection. During my 
counection with the Boundary Commission I passed the season of 1873 
in the very centre of abundance of the species, and collected over fifty 
specimens, all of which reached Washington safely and in good con- 
dition. Many more could have been secured, but I considered this 
number sufficient, not only for my own study of the species, but for distri- 
bution among other ornithologists, and various public collections in this 
country and Europe. During the same summer, my friend J. A. Allen, 
who was similarly engaged in field-work south of me, in the Yellowstone 
region, in connection with an engineeiing expedition then in progress, 
also became familiar with the bird, collected many specimens, and had 
the good fortune to discover the nest and eggs. These hitter, now in 
the National Museum, are the only specimens, so far as I know, which 
have come under the notice of naturalists since Audubon first discov- COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
559 
ered them. I transcribe the account wliicli he courteously furnished me 
for publication in a different connection :— 
“ The only nest we found was placed on the ground, acd neatly formed 
of fine dry grass. It was thinly arched over with the same material, 
and being built in a tuft of rank grass, was most thoroughly concealed. 
The bird would seem to be a close setter, as in this case the female 
remained on the nest till I actually stepped over it, she brushing against 
my feet as she went off'. The eggs were five in number, rather long and 
pointed, measuring about 0.90 by 0.00 inches; of a grayish-white color, 
thickly and minutely flecked with darker, giving them a decidedly pur- 
plish tint.” 
It is a natural step from the nest and egg to the young. On the 2d 
of August, 1S73, while encamped at Turtle Mountain, I discovered a 
brood of four newly fledged young birds, and captured the whole family, 
the mother bird being also secured. The little ones were still unable to 
fly, and would doubtless have escaped observation had it not been for 
the anxiety of the parents, whose disturbed actions and querulous com- 
plaints led to their detection. The nest was doubtless within a tew 
yards of my tent, but after careful and repeated search I had to give it 
up. The young birds, upon gaining their first full plumage, differ mate- 
rially from the adults. The upper parts have a richer cast, owing to 
the huffy edgings of the feathers ; those of the back and scapulars have 
also narrow, sharp, white tips, forming a set of semicircular markings. 
The greater coverts and longest inner wing feathers are likewise broadly 
wliite-tipped. The bully-brown patch formed by the ear-coverts is also 
more conspicuous than it is in the adults. The under parts, excepting 
the throat and middle of the belly, are strongly tinged with buff, while 
the streaks on the breast and sides are large, numerous, and diffuse. 
A more exact description of the adults than is usually found in trea- 
tises may be here reproduced. The sexes are alike, though the male 
averages a little larger than the female. In addition to the dimension 
given in the table which succeeds this article may be given those of 
other parts. The tail is about 2£ inches; bill £ an inch along the cul- 
men, which is a little concave toward the base. The bill as a whole is 
weak, slender, compressed, and acute. Tarsus, measured in front, £ to 
t9o ; hind toe and claw £ to 1, the variation depending chiefly upon the 
leugth of the hind claw, which differs a good deal in different individuals; 
eye black ; feet pale flesh color (ueary colorless); upper mandible black, 
the lower pale flesh color; upper parts dark brown streaked with pale 
gray, the baldness of the pattern corresponding with the size of the 
feathers, since the streaking constitutes the edging of each one; under 
parts dull whitish or very pale clay-color, washed with a heavier qr 
lighter shade of brown across the breast and along the sides, these same 
parts being sharply streaked with blackish; there is also a series of 
small black streaks on each side of the throat; quills of the wings fus- 
cous, the inner ones and the coverts edged with grayish-white, like the 560 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
leathers of the upper parts; outermost two pairs of tail-feathers for the 
most part white, and the third feather usually also with a touch of white 
near the end; the middle pair colored like the back. During the wear 
of the feathers in summer, the bird becomes darker on the upper parts, 
the grayish-white edgingsof the feathers narrower and sharper, and the 
streaks on the breast become fainter. After the fall moult, the general 
colors become purer and brighter, with stronger variegation on the 
upper parts and a ruddier brown wash on the lower. But these varia- 
tions, however obvious to the ornithologist’s eye, do not prevent ready 
recognition of the species. The bird bears some little resemblance to 
the common Titlark, its general form being much the same; but the 
latter never shows the decidedly variegated state of plumage which 
renders the present species unmistakable. 
If I am not mistaken, the range of the Missouri Skylark extends into 
Minnesota, and I have seen a record to that effect; but I cauuot at this 
moment recall the reference or lay my hand ou the article. 1 did not 
see the bird in the immediate viciuity of the Red River, aud do not think 
I should have overlooked it had any individuals been breeding about 
Pembina, where 1 was every day in the field for more than a month 
collecting very assiduously. Passing the low range of the Pembina 
Mountains, however, I at once entered the praiiie region, w here it was 
breeding in great numbers, in company with Baird’s aud the Chestnut- 
collared Buntings. The first one I shot, July 14, was a bird of the year, 
already full-grown and on wing, aud as I found scarcely fledged young 
at least a month later, I judge that, like the Eremophila, the bird raises 
two broods a year. Travelling westward to and beyond the second 
crossing of the Mouse River, no day passed that I did not see numbers 
of the birds; and at some of our camps, notably that at the first cross- 
ing of the Mouse River, they were so numerous that the air seemed full 
of them; young ones were caught by hand in the camp, and many might 
have been shot without stirring from my tent, as they hovered overhead 
ou tremulous wings, uttering continuously their sharp querulous cry. 
They continued abundant through the greater part of September, in 
which month the renewal of the plumage is completed, and some still 
remained on the ground until October. Exactly when they migrate, 
however, and where they go to, or when they return, are equally un- 
known to me,—not the least singular point iu the bird’s history is the 
success with which it has eluded observation during the winter months. 
It is not to be supposed that so delicate a bird is capable of enduring 
the rigors of winter in this inclement region; and yet, so far as I know, 
no one has found it in winter, at w hich season it surely ought one would 
suppose, to be generally distributed in more southerly portions of the 
West.* 
On reaching Fort Buford the following season, I naturally expected 
* A specimen was lately taken at Galveston, Tex., in March, by Sir. George B. Sen- 
nett. See this Bulletin, this Vol., No. 1, p. 10. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
561 
to find the Skylarks equally abundant; for this was tbe spot where the 
original victim fell to Audubon’s—rather, I understand, to Mr. Isaac 
Sprague’s—gun. But in this I was disappointed, for in the whole region 
up to the mouth of the Milk River, I only noticed perhaps a few hun- 
dred, and, to my surprise, not a single bird of the kind did I see any- 
where along the line of march through the Milk River country, until I 
came to the headwaters of that river, two or three days’journey from the 
Rocky Mountains, where, on the 13th of August, a single specimen was 
secured. There is nothing in the general range of the species to account 
for this, since the bird, as Mr. Allen has informed us, is common in the 
Yellowstone region; it must be attributed to some peculiarity of local 
distribution, or fortuitous default of observation. 
The general habits and manners of these birds are very much like 
those of their nearest allies, the Titlarks. During the breeding-season, 
as usual, it is dispersed in pairs over the country ; but, like many other 
prairie birds, it has its predilection for certain spots, especially in the 
vicinity of the streams, where many pairs gather in straggling companies, 
and loose troops are seen together as soon as the first broods are on wing. 
Such semi-communism is a conspicuous trait of many species not strictly 
gregarious; but in the present case, after the duties of incubation are 
entirely finished, larger flocks, acting upon the same impulses, are fre- 
quently observed. Were it not for their great abundance, there would 
be some trouble in securing large numbers, for there are few birds more 
difficult to shoot upon the wing, while their colors, assimilating with 
the rusty herbage of the prairie, effectually conceal them when on the 
ground. When startled, they rise with a rapid, wayward flight, which 
often defies the most expert marksman. Their ordinary hovering flight, 
again, though not rapid, is of the peculiarly devious, desultory, and 
jerky character which renders a sure aim almost impossible, just as it is 
in the case of a bat, for instance; the instantaneous snap shot, which is 
one of the prettiest exhibitions of a sportsman’s acquired instincts, is 
alone likely to be successful. After thus hovering on wing for a time, 
during which the lisping, plaintive note is continually uttered, the birds 
are wont to pitch suddenly down to the ground again, often upon the 
very spot whence they arose, and are then immediately lost to view, 
even among the scantiest herbage of the prairie. On the ground, as on 
the wing, their actions are precisely like those of Titlarks: they never 
hop with both feet, like most kinds of Sparrows, but run with one foot 
after the other, tripping along with mincing steps, and continually vibrat- 
ing the tail, which seems as if jointed with an elastic hinge. They 
have a fancy for frequenting the wagon-roads which cross the boundless 
expanse of prairie, perhaps finding the worn ruts smoother and easier 
to walk upon, perhaps attracted by insects which the disturbance of the 
surface exposes, or by the droppings of the draught animals which have 
passed along. 
But the most interesting portion of the natural history of these birds 562 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
is tbeir charming song, and the wonderful soaring action during its 
delivery. The music is heard only during a brief period—in the love 
season, when the birds are mating and nesting; at other times they 
have only the sibilant chirp already noted. The bird soars on high till 
it is but a speck in the blue ether, even until it is lost to view, and then 
the matchless song descends as if from another world, while its inde- 
scribable effect is heightened by the monotonous and often dreary sur- 
roundings of the scene. The song continues with scarcely an inter- 
mission for several minutes, before the little performer, setting his wings, 
glides quietly back to his humble home iu the grass; and when, as often 
happens, several are singing within hearing of each other, the whole air 
seems filled with melody, and vibrating in accord with the harmonious 
strains. Such concerts as these, to which I have listened for nearly a 
month together, are among the most delicious pieces of bird-melody to 
be heard anywhere, and their memory is to me one of the choicest of 
the many pleasurable experiences that have been mine in the years I 
have devoted to my favorite pursuits. 
List of specimens, 
Coll. No. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
A 
tc 
8 
ExtCDt. 
bio 
p 
F 
Nature of specimen 
and remarks. 
3260 
20 miles west of Pem- 
July 14,1673 
Elliott Coues. 
6. 50 
11. 25 
3.30 
Skin. 
l)ina Mts., Dak. 
3302 
75 miles west of Pem- 
July 17,1873 
....do 
6.30 
10. 40 
3.10 
do. 
l)ina Mts., Dak. 
3314 
25 miles east cf Tur- 
July 18,1873 
— do 
6.40 
10.50 
3.15 
do. 
tie Mt., Dak. 
3315 
....do 
6 50 
10 00 
3316 
d 
do 
do 
do 
6.30 
lo! 50 
3.20 
do. 
3317 
6. GO 
11 00 
3 30 
Ho 
3318 
G. 50 
10. 8') 
3. 20 
3319 
Q 
do 
do 
...do 
6. 40 
10. 90 
3.15 
—do. 
3397 
Q 
Aug. 2, 1873 
G. 25 
10. 25 
3. 05 
3398 
3399 
:woo 
3401 
3421 
n 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Aug. 9,1873 
6. 60 
10. 75 
3422 
o 
G. 75 
11.15 
3423 
6. 75 
11.10 
3424 
G. 50 
10. 85 
3425 
rf 
6. 75 
10. 90 
3426 
rf 
6. 80 
11. 20 
3427 
6. 50 
10. 75 
3428 
6. 70 
11. 25 
3429 
G. 60 
11. 00 
3430 
G. 30 
10. 35 
3431 
G. 50 
10. 50 
3432 
6. 50 
10. GO 
3433 
6. 50 
10. 75 
3434 
G. 35 
10. 50 
3435 
G. 75 
10. 90 
3472 
Aug. 10,1873 
3483 
Aug. 11,1873 
6.80 
11.00 
...do. 
3484 
...„do .... 
...do 
G. 70 
10 GO 
3485 
6. 50 
10. 50 
3486 
do 
10. 50 
.do. 
3487 
10 70 
3493 
do 
Aug. 13,1873 
—do 
6.50 
10.25 
3494 
......do 
6. 80 
11. 30 
3495 
6. 65 
10 GO 
3496 
G. 75 
11 10 
3497 
7. 00 
11. 50 
do 
3498 
G. 50 
10. 75 
3499 
6. GO 
10. £> 
3500 
do 
6. 50 
10. 65 
do. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
563 
List of specimens—Continued. 
Coll. No. 
M 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3501 
<S 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Aug. 13,1873 
Elliott Coues 
6. 75 
11.25 
Skin. 
3502 
.. do . .. 
10.85 
3503 
6. 75 
11.00 
do. 
3504 
10. 90 
3505 
6. 50 
11.00 
3506 
6. 40 
10. 40 
3542 
Au<t. 19 1873 
3705 
::::do ::::::::::::::: 
6. 30 
10. 80 
3706 
6.50 
11.20 
3850 
Oct. 1,1873 
6. 50 
10.80 
3. 30 
do. 
4440 
Headwaters Milk 
Aug. 13j 1874 
do 
6. 40 
10.50 
3. 30 
do. 
River, Mont. 
MNIOTILTA VARIA, (L.) Vieill. 
Black-and-white Creeper. 
A single specimen was taken at Pembina, where it probably breeds, 
though the fact was not ascertained. Not found further west. In the 
Missouri region, it has not been traced beyond old Fort Pierre, where 
Dr. Hayden some years since observed it. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Lengtli. 
Extent. 
bio 
P 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2919 
.... 
June 9, 1873 
Elliott Coues. 
Skin. 
HELMINTIIOPHAGA PEREGRINA, {JYUs.) Cab. 
Tennessee Warbler. 
Upon my arrival at Pembina, the beginning of June, I at once per- 
ceived that the vernal migration of the present species past this point 
was about to be concluded. This was evidenced by the great dispro- 
portion of the sexes, for out of thirteen specimens secured and examined 
only three proved to be males. In this case, as in many others, the 
males lead the van daring the migration, the females bringing up the 
rear a little later. Such preponderance of females, taken among speci- 
mens indiscriminately secured, is a pretty sure indication that the 
migration is in progress; for when the birds stop, and begin breeding, 
many more of the active and musical males than of the quiet, shy, and 
unobtrusive females will be likely to be observed, as was strikingly 
illustrated on the same spot by the Mourning Warblers. Another indi- 
cation of the rapid progress of the migration was the steady current, 
so to speak, of these birds that flowed along the waters of the river itself. 
The general course of the river is nearly due north and south, and it 
thus forms a convenient and attractive highway of migration, along 564 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
which numerous woodland species pass. I accounted for the great 
abundance of such birds at this point by the fact that the whole country 
to the westward being open, and, therefore, unsuited to their wants, a 
condensation, or a sort of thickened, folded-over edge of the species 
here occurred. As long as the migration lasted, the heavy timber of the 
river-bottom was filled with the birds in a steady stream. There was 
no occasion to go in search of specimens ; stationing myself in some eli- 
gible spot, I had only to take them as they came along, fluttering from 
tree to tree, pursuing insects with a sharp, scraping note, yet never 
long delaying their onward course. With the second week In June 
they had all, so far as I know, passed northward ; certainly I found no 
indication of any remaining to breed in this locality. 
The species was not observed further west in this latitude, though it 
has been traced high up the Missouri by other persons. It was named 
Sylvicola missouriensis in 1858 by Maximilian, the late Prince of Wied. 
List of specimens. 
6 
fc 
o 
O 
Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
bJo 
a 
K 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2778 
9 
5.00 
7. 75 
2779 
4. 75 
7.75 
2819 
£ 
Juue 3,1873 
... do 
4. 75 
7. 50 
2820 
9 
4. 75 
7. 75 
2821 
....do 
4, 60 
7. 70 
2822 
do 
do 
4. 90 
7.50 
2823 
A 
4. 60 
7. 40 
2824 
5 
do 
... do 
4. 80 
7. 50 
2825 
5 
4. 70 
7. 50 
....do. 
1 2826 
5 
4. 90 
7. 70 
! 2827 
9 
4.75 
7.40 
1 2828 
d 
do 
4. 90 
8.00 
do 
4. 90 
7.90 
| 2829 
HELMINTTIOPHAGA CELATA, (Say) Bd. 
Orange-crowned Warbler. 
Observed during tbe fall migration, in September, along the Mouse 
River, where it was abundant. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
W 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
b£ 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3761 
.... 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Sept. 16,1873 
Elliott Cones 
5. 20 
7.60 
2,30 
Skin. 
3719 
Sept. 18, 1873 
3780 
5. 00 
7. 75 
2. 40 
. ..do. 
3781 
4. 80 
7.50 
2.35 
3782 
3794 
Sept, 19,1873 
3801 
Sept. 22] 1873 
do 
4.80 
7.00 
2.30 
....do. 
3802 
5. 00 
7. 60 
2. 50 
3803 
4. 90 
7. 40 
2. 45 
3840 
— 
do 
Sept. 30,1873 
do 
4.80 
7.60 
2.40 
do. 565 
COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
DENDRCECA .ESTIVA, (Gm.) Bd. 
Yellow Warbler. 
This abundaut and universally diffused species was observed at vari- 
ous points along the whole line, and in the Missouri region. 
Coll. No. 
Sox. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
bto 
s 
■ 
Extent. 
bio 
p 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2784 
5. 00 
7.75 
2785 
5.10 
7.70 
2786 
9 
4. 90 
7. 50 
... do. 
2813 
2844 
rT 
June 4,1873 
5. 00 
7.75 
2345 
2846 
4. 90 
7. 60 
2895 
3564 
Aug. 23 1873 
4445 
9 
Aug. 14,1874 
River, Mont. 
List of specimens. 
DENDRCECA CORONATA, {Linn.) Gray. 
Yellow-rumped Warbler. 
Not observed until about the middle of September, wheu, during the 
fall migration, it made its appearance in abundance along the Mouse 
River, in company with the Snowbirds and other species just come from 
the north. It is one of the Warblers which, though distinctively belonging 
to the Eastern Province, occasionally straggles southward by a direct 
line from the extreme western points which it reaches in Alaska. Dr3. 
Cooper and Suckley found it in Washington Territory; Dr. Hayden, up 
the Missouri to above old Fort Pierre; and Mr. C. E. Aiken, Mr. T. M. 
Trippe, and Mr. H. W. Henshaw have each found it in Colorado Terri- 
tory. Its breeding-range is not a little remarkable: it has been recorded 
as breeding in Jamaica, as well as in various parts of British America 
and Alaska, but is not known to nest in the greater part of the inter- 
vening country. Similarly, in winter, some individuals endure the 
rigors of the Middle, if not of some of the Northern, States, while others 
press on into Central America. No other Warbler, as far as known, has 
such a peculiar distribution as this. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
<D 
V) 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nat ure of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3768 
3769 
3783 
.... 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Sept. 16,1873 
Elliott Cones 
Skin. 
Sept. 18,1873 566 
bulletin united states geological survey. 
DENDRCECA AUDUBONI, (Toicns.) Bd. 
Audubon’s Warbler. 
Audubon’s Warbler was only observed in the Rocky Mountains, beyond 
the eastern foothills of which it is not known to extend. From the 
Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, it is as abundant, in suitable localities, 
a3 the is in most parts of the East, and its counterpart in 
habits. The individuals found about Chief Mountain Lake did not 
appear to be migrating,—in fact, the full movemeut had not begun at the 
period of observation,—and the species doubtless breeds in this locality 
in the heavy pine timber. 
List of specimens. 
o 
£ ' 
s ; M 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
tl 
P 
P 
S 
ti) 
p 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
O | tr. 
w 
k 
4536 ' 
Kockv Mountains, 
lat. 49°. 
Aug. 22,1874 
Elliott Couos. 
Skin. 
4557 .... 
do 
..do. 
do 
do. 
DENDIICECA STRIATA, (Forst.) Bd, 
Black-poll Warbler. 
A specimen of this species, procured on Woody Mountain, was ob- 
served in the collection made by Mr. G. M. Dawson, geologist of the 
English Commission. 
DENDRCECA PENNSYLVANIA, {Linn.) Bd. 
Chestnut-sided Warbler. 
One specimen only of this distinctively Eastern specimen was secured 
at Pembina,—perhaps its western, if not also nearly its northern, limit. 
It was not observed beyond the Bed River. This is one of the more 
delicate species of the genus, which regularly breeds little, if any, beyond 
the Northern States, and entirely withdraws in winter, reaching Central 
and even South America. I have not found any indication of its occur- 
rence west of the longitude of the Red River in any latitude. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
H 
© 
02 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
ti 
a 
£ 
Na t ure of s pec imen, 
ami remarks. 
2814. 
$ 
Pembina, Dak 
June 3,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
5.00 
7.70 
Skin. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
567 
DENDRCECA MACULOSA, (Cm.) Bd. 
Black and-yellow Warbler. 
Specimen from Woody Mountain, seen in Mr. Dawson’s collection. 
SIURUS NJEVIUS, (.Bodd.) Cones. 
Water Thrush. 
During the progress of'the Northwest Boundary Survey, with which 
the work of the present Commission connected, the Water Thrush was 
observed in Washington Territory ; and since that time its very general 
range throughout North America has been demonstrated, though the 
bird was long supposed to be, like 8. motacilla, a species of the East- 
ern Province. A specimen was secured in August west of the Sweet- 
grass Hills, on the headwaters of Milk River. This was the only indi- 
vidual procured during the expedition, and seemed to be somewhat out 
of place, since the species frequents, for the most part, moister and 
better-wooded regions. It was again observed, however, in the under- 
growth surrounding some reedy pools near Chief Mountain. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
0) 
C/2 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4430 
.... 
West of Sweetgrass 
Uills, Mont. 
Aug. 12,1874 
Elliott Coues 
Skin. 
GEOTHLYPIS TRICHAS, [Linn.) Cab. 
Maryland Yellow-throat. 
Observed at Pembina, on Turtle Mountain, and in the Rocky Mount- 
ains, but not in the open country between these points. The species is 
one of general distribution in the United States in all suitable localities, 
and appears to breed indifferently in any latitude within these limits. 
The Northern Boundary may be not far from the line of its dispersion in 
this direction. 
List of specimens, 
Coll. No. 
X 
VI 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. , 
Extent. | 
fcl) 
% 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2878 
3373 
3374 
4620 
d 
d 
9 
Pembina, Dak 
Turtle Mountain, Dak 
June 5,1873 
July 28,1873 
Elliott Coues 
.. do 
Skin. 
... .do. 
liocky Mountains, 
lat. 49°. 
Aug. 26,1874 
J. H. Batty... 568 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
GEOTHLYPIS PHILADELPHIA, (Wilt.) Bd. 
Mourning Warbler. 
I was agreeably surprised to find this species, which is rather rare in 
most Eastern localities, breeding abundantly at Pembina ; and I suspect 
that the Mississippi Valley, rather than the Atlantic seaboard, may be the 
principal line of migration along which it comes from its winter home in 
Central America to its breeding resorts along the northern boundary of 
the United States. At the end of June I found a nest, supposed to be 
of this species, but the identification was not at all satisfactory. The 
birds were breeding in J une, as 1 knew by the different actions of the two 
sexes. The males were in full song, and, contrary to their very secretive 
habits during most of the year, became rather conspicuous, not only by 
their singing, but by their custom, of leaving the dense shrubbery and 
uudergrowth, in which they usually hide, to mount to the tops of the 
trees. The females, on the other hand, were extraordinarily quiet and 
retiring; so much so, that during the whole mouth I secured not a single 
specimen, though nearly a dozen males were taken without much diffi- 
culty. The birds wero only observed in the heavy timber of the river- 
bottom in this locality, and were not afterward encountered during our 
progress westward; whence I suppose this is about the limit of their 
Western dispersion. The species appears to breed in like numbers iu 
various portions of Minnesota, where Mr. T. M. Trippe has found it 
haunting the tamarack swamps and adjoining damp thickets. He cor- 
roborates the habit I have just mentioned of ascending to the tree-tops; 
and, like myself, was unfortunate in finding no nest, though he fre- 
quently saw the old birds feeding their young in the latter part of June 
and early in July. The song is a loud, clear, and agreeable warble, reit- 
erated with great persistency. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
do 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
UD 
8 
i-3 
j Extent. 
bio 
% 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2775 
d 
Pembina, Dak 
June 2, 1873 
Elliott Cones 
5. 25 
7. 75 
Skin. 
•2776 
do . 
5. 30 
7. 70 
2777 
5. 25 
7. 70 
2876 
d 
do 
June 6,1873 
....do 
5. 40 
8.10 
...do. 
2877 
5. 30 
7. 75 
2920 
rC 
5. 30 
7. 90 
2995 
5. 25 
7. 75 
2968 
7. 70 
3219 
do 
June 30,1873 
....do 
Nest with 1 egg (?). 
GEOTHLYPIS PHILADELPHIA MACGILLIVRAYI, (Aud.) Bd. 
Macgillivray’s Warbler. 
A single specimen was secured in the Rocky Mountains in August. 
In this latitude at least, the present bird does not appear to approach COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
569 
the range of its Eastern conspecies within several hundred miles, though 
further south the two may approach each other more closely. The typi- 
cal macgillivrayi, however, has been recorded from Boxelder Creek, one 
of the tributaries of the Missouri above the mouth of the Yellowstone. 
List of specimens. 
© 
~o 
O 
f 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
| Length. 
Extent. 
bi) 
Q 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4581 
.... 
Itocky Mountains, 
latitude 49°. 
Aug. 23,1874 
Elliott Coues. 
5.50 
7.90 
2. 50 
Skin. 
ICTERIA VIRENS, (Linn.) Bd. 
Yellow-breasted Chat. 
No Chats were observed at Pembina, nor anywhere along the parallel 
of 49°, and it may well be doubted whether the species ever quite reaches 
this latitude. Its absence from the Eed Eiver Valley is in striking con- 
trast to its abundance and general dispersion in the Missouri region, 
but a comparatively short distance to the southward and much further 
west. In the Atlantic States it barely reaches into Southern New 
England. I found it during the second season up the Missouri to 
beyond the mouth of the Yellowstone. 
List of specimens. 
j Coll. No. 
M 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen 
and remarks. 
4022 
cf 
Big Muddy River, 
Mont. 
Juno 22,1874 
Elliott Coues 
Skin. 
MYIODIOCTES rUSILLUS, (Fife.) Bp. 
Black-capped Fly-catching Warbler. 
A species of general distribution in North America, and doubtless 
occurring at all suitable points along the Line, though only actually 
observed near the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains. 
List of specimens. 
Con. No. 
O' 
xn 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
tx 
3 
& 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4449 
.... 
Headwaters Milk 
Kiver, Mont. 
Aug. 14,1874 
J. H. Batty... 
Skin. 570 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
SETOPHAGA ltUTICILLA, {Linn.) Sic. 
Redstart. 
Very abundant at Pembina, where it breeds. Early in June, the 
birds exhibited the incessant activity which marks the mating season, 
and were conspicuous in the sombre foliage of the dense timber along 
the river, no less by the brilliancy of their black, white, and red plum- 
age, than by their noisiness and sprightly actions. Their characteris- 
tic habits of expanding and flirting the tail, and running sideways along 
the twigs of trees, and their wonderful agility in the pursuit of flying 
insects, are all particularly well displayed at this season. 
Though I did not myself observe the species further westward along 
the Line, nor anywhere in the Missouri region, it has been traced by 
others, especially by Dr. J. G. Cooper, along the Upper Missouri and 
Milk Eivers, and thence to the Cceur d’Alene Mountains. It is also 
known to occur in Colorado and Utah. 
List of specimens, 
6 
ft 
'o 
O 
M 
0) 
U2 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
s° 
1 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2783 
cf 
4. 75 
7. 00 
2804 
June 3,1873 
2805 
2800 
? 
do 
....do 
HIEUXDO EEYTHEOGASTEA HOEEEOEUM, [Barton,) Cones, 
Barn Swallow. 
I find no specimens of this species entered in my register from Pembina, 
where, according to my recollection, it was not breeding at the time of 
my visit, though the family was there well represented by numbers of 
Clift’ and White-bellied Swallows. Nevertheless, Barn Swallows were 
commonly observed, during July and August, at various points along 
the Line, nearly to the Rocky Mountains. Eligible breeding-places for 
this species being few and far between in this country, it is correspond- 
ingly uncommon, at least in comparison with its numbers in most settled 
districts. A small colony of the birds which had located for the sum- 
mer on a small stream west of the Sweetgrass Hills afforded me an oppor- 
tunity of observing a curious modification of their nesting-habits, which 
I believe had not been known until I published a note upon the subject. 
The nests were built in little holes in the perpendicular side of a “cut- 
bank”,—whether dug by the birds themselves or not I could not satisfy 
myself, though I am inclined to think that they were. My assistant, 
Mr. Batty, seemed to feel quite confident in the matter; and the proba- 
bility is, that if the holes were not wholly made by the birds, they were 
at least fitted up for the purpose. COUES OX BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
571 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
* 
’J2 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
A 
a 
Extent. 
bio 
Nature of speciiuen, 
and remarks. 
Mouse Diver, Dak .. 
Crossing of Milk 
liiver, Mont. 
West of Sweetgrass 
Hills, Mont. 
Aug. 30,1873 
July 2P, 1874 
Aug 10,1874 
Elliott Cones 
Skin. 
4298 
4388 
.... 
T ACH Y C IN ETA BICOLOR, (Vieill.) Cab. 
White bellied Swallow. 
Only observed at Pembina, where it was breeding in small numbers 
about the Fort, together with large colonies of Cliff Swallows. 
List of specimens. 
© 
& 
o 
O 
M 
© 
OQ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
2 
s 
Extent. 
tJD 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3056 
cf 
Pembina, Dak 
June 19,1873 
Elliott Cones. 
Skin. 
TACHYCINETA THALASSINA, (Sw.) Cab. 
Violet-green Swallow. 
Observed ou one occasion (June 20, 1874) on the Upper Missouri 
near Quaking Ash River. 
PETROCHELIDON LUNIFRONS, (Say) Scl. 
Cliff Swallow. 
This is the most abundant, generally distributed, and characteristic 
species of the family throughout the regiou under consideration. The 
various streams that cut their devious ways through the prairie afford an 
endless succession of steep banks exactly suited to its wants during the 
nesting-seasou, and at various places great clusters of the curious bottle- 
nosed mud-nests were found, while the flocks of Swallows which often 
hung about our camps were mainly composed of this species. At some 
points, the Bank Swallows were breeding with them; the same banks be- 
ing peppered with their little round holes, generally in the soft soil just 
below the surface, whde the projecting nests of the Cliff Swallows studded 
the harder or rocky exposures below. At Fort Pembina, the Cliff Swal- 
lows were so numerous as to become a nuisance; their incessant twit- 
tering was considered a bore, while the litter they brought and their 
droppings resulted in a sad breach of military decorum. Nevertheless, 
it was found almost impossible to dislodge them, and one could not but 572 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
admire the courage and perseverance which they displayed in recon- 
structing or repairing their nests, though these were repeatedly de- 
stroyed. In examining scores of nests, I was rather surprised to find 
how small a proportion were finished into the complete retort-shape, 
even among those which had not been disturbed. Some were little 
more than cups, like those of the Barn Swallow, partially arched over, 
and many were simply conical, while in other details they varied greatly 
according to the position in which they happened to be fixed or their 
relations to each other. The laying-season in this latitude is at its 
height during the second and third weeks in June. Probably only one 
brood is reared each season. Young birds are on the wing by the mid- 
dle or latter part of July. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
5 
tn 
a 
o 
Extent. 
be 
c 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2970 
2971 
2994 
3051 
3058 
3116 
3228 
4296 
4297 
.... 
June 13,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
5.90 
5.90 
12.30 
12. 30 
Skin. 
.... do. 
Egg. 
Skin. 
d 
d 
June 19,1873 
June 22,1873 
July 7,1873 
July 25,1874 
Six eggs. 
Skin. 
? 
Crossing of Milk 
River, Mont. 
COTYLE EIPARIA, (Linn.) Boie. 
Bank Swallow. 
In noticing the preceding species, I have already alluded to the pres- 
ent as one of those of general distribution along the Line in summer, 
breeding in colonies anywhere where the cut-banks of the rivers afford 
suitable sites for the digging of the holes in which the nests are con- 
structed. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
V 
xn 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
fci 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2969 
.... 
Pembina, Dak 
June 13,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
5.30 
11.10 
Skin. 
PROGNE SUBIS, {Linn.) Baird 
Purple Martin. 
I was rather surprised to find Martins breeding on Turtle Mountain, 
having observed none at Pembina. In this locality, where there are, of 
course, no artificial conveniences for the purpose, they must nest in 
Woodpeckers’ holes and similar cavities of trees, as they do in other parts COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
573 
of the West where I have observed them. This was the only locality 
where the species was observed, though it is known to extend into the 
Saskatchewan region. 
List of specimens. 
6 
'A 
o 
O 
TJ1 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
"Sd 
p 
a? 
P 
V, 
w 
fci 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3350 
Turtle Mountain, 
Dak. 
July 23,1873 
Elliott Coues 
Skin. 
AMPELIS GARRULUS, Linn. 
Bohemian Waxwing. 
The taking of the specimen below tabulated may be regarded as the 
most interesting single result of the Commission, as far as ornithology 
is concerned, since it shows that the Waxwing breeds on or very near 
the boundary of the United States. The individual is a newly fledged 
bird, in the streaky condition which characterizes the first plumage, and 
was undoubtedly bred in the immediate vicinity. This inference is con- 
firmed by the fact that at the date of capture, August 19, all the birds of 
the locality were obviously in their summer home, no migratory move- 
ment having begun in any case. The individual was shot on the mount- 
ain-side adjoining Chief Mountain Lake, at an altitude of about 1,200 
feet, in thick coniferous woods, where it was in company with numbers 
of A. cedrorum. No others were observed, which could hardly have 
been the case had the species been on its migration. 
The Waxwing is one of the birds which longest defied ornithologists 
to discover its nest and eggs, not only in this country, but even in Eu- 
rope. In the latter country, its breeding-grounds were first discovered, 
and the desired specimens secured by Mr. J. Wolley’s indefatigable 
exertions in Lapland in 185G. In America, Messrs. R. Kenuicott audR. 
McFarlane share the credit of the corresponding discovery; the former 
enthusiastic and accomplished naturalist having taken the nest and egg 
on the Yukon in 18G1, the latter on the Anderson River. The nidifi- 
cation is much the same as that of the common Cedar Bird, and quite 
similar, though the nest, of course, is larger. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
0 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
11 
a 
* 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4525 
—• 
Kocky Mountains, 
latitude 49°. 
Aug. 19,1874 
Elliott Coues. 
Skin (newly 
fledged). 574 
BULLETIN united states geological survey. 
AMPELIS CEDRORUM, (Vieill.) Gray. 
Cedar Bird; Carolina Waxwing. 
Not seen at Pembina but found at various other points along the Line, 
and ascertained to be particularity abundant in the Rocky Mountains. 
At this locality, two of its conspicuous traits were illustrated, namely, the 
lateness and tbe irregularity of its breeding. On the same day, August 
19, that I took young birds fully fledged and on wing, a nest contain- 
ing four eggs was found by one of my assistants, Mr. A. B. Chapin. This 
might be interpreted upon the supposition that two broods are reared 
in a season, but I do not think that such was the case in the present 
instance: the bird is too late a breeder for this, at any rate in such a 
high latitude, not far from its northernmost limit of its distribution. 
List of specimens. 
6 
fc 
'o 
O 
M 
QJ 
CO 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
4 
tc 
a 
o 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3541 
3721 
3732 
4524 
4526 
4532 
4559 
4560 
4561 
4562 
4563 
? 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Aug. 19,1873 
Sept. 3,1873 
Sept. 8,1873 
Aug. 19,1874 
Elliott Cones. 
Skin. 
Long Coteau River, 
Dak. 
Rocky Mountains, 
latitude 49°. 
do 
....do. 
Skin (young). 
Nest with 4 eggs. 
Skin. 
A. B. Chapin. 
Aug. 20,1874 
Aug. 22,1874 
...do 
...do. 
....do. 
i 
VIKEO OLIVACEUS, (Linn.) T7will. 
Red eyed Vireo. 
Abundant at Pembina, where it was breeding in June, and again on 
the Upper Missouri between Fort Buford and the mouth of the Milk 
River. Though characteristically a bird of the Eastern Province, it has 
latterly been traced to the Pocky Mountains and somewhat beyond. 
The late Dr. C. B. R. Kennedy found it in Washington Territory, and 
Mr. J. A. Allen at Ogden, Utah. 
List of specimens. 
6 
'o 
O 
M 
© 
Cft 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
fci 
p 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2^07 
.Tiino 3 1873 
6. 30 
10.10 
2?-08 
o 
do 
5.90 
9. 50 
do. 
2c<09 
6.25 
10. 00 
2859 
6. 00 
9. 70 
do. 
2860 
5.90 
9. 40 
do. 
2861 
o 
6. 00 
9. 75 
....do. 
2889 
6.00 
10. 30 
2925 
5. 75 
9.90 
do. 
2926 
? 
5. 90 
10.20 
do. 
2937 
2966 
June 13,1873 COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
575 
YIREO PHILADELPHICUS, Cass. 
Brotherly-love Yireo 
This appears to be a species which, like the Mourning Warbler and 
some others, is more abundant in the interior, and especially in the 
Mississippi Yalley, than in the Atlantic States. It was originally 
described, a few years since, from the vicinity of Philadelphia, as indi- 
cated by its name, and has been justly esteemed as rather a rare bird 
in the Eastern and Middle States, though its great similarity to V. gil- 
viis may be a cause of its being partially overlooked. In New England, 
it has been found on two or three occasions, and Dr. Brewer informed 
me of its abundance in Wisconsin during the latter part of May. Mr. 
T. M. Trippe in querying V. gilvus as found by him in Minnesota, prob- 
ably had the present species in view. It undoubtedly breeds about 
Pembina, in the heavy timber of the river-bottom, but I was not so 
fortunate as to discover its nest, a circumstance the more to be re- 
gretted since neither the nest or eggs have as yet come to light. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
§3 
02 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
A 
tjt 
8 
i-l 
Extent. 
AVing. 
N atnre of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2811 
2812 
d 
9 
Pembina, Dak 
June 3,1873 
Elliott Coues 
5.10 
4. 80 
8. 50 
7. 80 
Skin. 
VIREO GILVUS, (Vieill.) Bp 
Warbling Yireo. 
Observed in abundance at Pembina, ami again found at the opposite 
extremity of the Line, the specimen captured in the Rocky Mountains, 
however, being probably of the slight variety sicainsoni. At Pembina, 
the Warbling Yireo was in full song and breeding in June. A nest 
found on the 11th of that month was still empty; but in this latitude 
few of the small insectivorous birds appear to lay before the third 
week in June. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
| Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
u 
Natureof specimen, 
and remarks. 
2810 
2800 
2923 
2933 
4519 
? 
cT 
? 
Pembina, Dak 
do 
do 
June 3,1873 
June 6,1873 
June 9,1873 
June 11,1873 
Aug. 19,1874 
Elliott Cones 
do 
do 
do 
5.60 
6.00 
5.30 
8.50 
9.10 
8.60 
Skin. 
Nest. 
Skin (var. swain- 
soni). 
— 
Itocky Mountains, 
latitude 49°. 
do 576 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEV. 
VIREO SOLITAllIUS, (Wild.) Vieill. 
Solitary Vireo. 
One specimen of this rather rare species was secured at Pembina, 
which is probably about its northern limit. It was taken in the timber 
of the river-bottom, frequented by three other species of the same genus. 
A fifth species of Yireo, the White-eyed, probably also occurs in the 
same locality, since it has been found in Minnesota. It was not, how- 
ever, observed. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
0 
CQ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
bi) 
p 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2839 
.... 
Pembina, Dak 
June 4,1873 
Elliott Coues 
5.50 
9.25 
Skin. 
COLLURIO LUDOVICIANUS EXCUBITORIDES, (Sw.) Cones. 
White-rumped Shrike. 
This is the characteristic species of the whole region explored,—the lar- 
ger kind, C. borealis, probably only occurring during its migration to or 
from the north, and in winter; at any rate, it was not observed. The White- 
rumped Shrike is common in suitable localities, and numerous specimens 
were secured at different points. At Turtle Mountain, during the last 
week in July, I found a family of these birds in an isolated clump of 
bushes. The young, four in number, had just left the nest, which was 
discovered in the crotch of a bush, live or six feet from the ground. It 
was one of the dirtiest nests I have ever handled, being fouled with ex- 
crement, and with a great deal of a scurfy or scaly substance, apparently 
cast from the feathers of the young during their growth. The nest 
proper rested upon a bulky mass of interlaced twigs ; it was composed 
of some white weed that grew abundantly in the vicinity, matted to- 
gether with strips of fibrous bark. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
* 
© 
XJ1 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
| Extent. 
tb 
Nature of specim en, 
and remarks. 
2774 
2983 
2984 
d 
d 
? 
June 1,1873 
June 14,1873 
Elliott Coues 
Skin. 
... do 
8.60 
8.60 
12.40 
12.40 
....do 
....do. 
3385 
3386 
3387 
3391 
4506 
4640 
Turtle Mountain, 
Dak. 
do 
July 30,1873 
....do. 
do 
July 31,1873 
Aug. 17,1874 
Aug. 29,1874 
.... 
Rocky Mountains, 
latitude 49°. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
577 
CARPODACUS PURPUREUS, (Gm.) Gray. 
Purple Fincii. 
This species was found in small numbers on Turtle Mountain during 
the latter part of July. It doubtless breeds in this locality. It has been 
traced by other observers as far as the region of the Saskatchewan, but 
I did not find it in the Bocky Mountains, nor, indeed, anywhere along 
the Line, excepting in the locality just mentioned. In the Missouri re- 
gion, I have ascertained that it ascends the river as far at least as Fort 
Bandall,—how much further I am unable to say ; the evidence of its 
presence above that point being negative, with the exception of Dr. 
Hayden’s record of a specimen from Vermilion River. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
$ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
33C8 
? 
Turtle Mountain, 
Dak. 
July 28,1873 
Elliott Coues 
Skin. 
CIIRYSOMITRIS TRISTIS, (Linn.) Bp. 
American Goldfinch. 
This familiar bird was noted only at Pembina. It is, however, a 
species of general distribution in North America, so that the lack of 
observation respecting it at other points is to be regarded as simply 
fortuitous. 
While upon the small subgroup of the Fringillidce to which the 
present species belongs, I may properly note some other kinds which 
undoubtedly belong to the avifauna of the Boundary Line, though they 
escaped my observation. These are chiefly winter visitors from the 
north,—for it will be remembered that I was in the field, during both 
seasons, only from June to October. 
The Piue Grosbeak, Finicola enucleator, the two Cross-bills, Loxia 
americana and L. leucoptera, the Gray-crowned finch, Leucosticte tepliro- 
cotis, and the Red-poll Linnet, FEgiotlius linaria, all enter this country 
later in the fall, some to remain during winter, others to pass further 
on ; while the Pine Linnet, Chrysomitris pinus, is a species of the same 
general distribution as the Goldfinch. 
Of the genus Plectroplianus, next to be considered, all the North 
American species occur in this region, which is the very home of two ot 
them 5 two others came southward just as I was leaving, the 1st of Oc- 
tober ; and the fifth, the Snow Bunting, P. nivalis, which was the only 
one not seen, doubtless came along shortly afterward. 578 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. I 
& 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
a 
o 
M 
W 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2830 
cf 
Peuibina, Dak 
June 4, 1873 
Elliott Coues 
5.10 
9.00 
Skin. 
PLECTROPHANES LAPPONICUS, {Linn.) Selby. 
Lapland Longspur. 
On one of the last occasions when, during the season of 1873, I used 
my gun for collecting, a single specimen of the Lapland Longspur was 
secured. I think that the species had just reached the parallel on its 
southward movement; otherwise I could hardly have failed to observe 
it sooner, as I was shooting almost every day. Exactly how far south 
it may linger to breed I do not know, but there are some indications 
that it may occasionally nest in this latitude. Nevertheless, it ordina- 
rily reaches the Arctic regions in summer; and I have seen the nest and 
eggs from an island in Behring’s Sea. It moves southward in October 
in large flocks, reaching at least as far as Kentucky and Colorado. It 
does not appear to have been found in the United States west of the 
Pocky Mountains, but this may be merely through default of observa- 
tion, since it is a species of circumpolar distribution, like the Snow Bunt- 
ing, abundant in northern portions of Asia and Europe. Such casual 
observations as I made when the specimen was secured showed nothing 
specially different in its habits from either P.pictus or P. ornatus, with 
both of which it was associated. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
£ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3851 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Oct 1,1873 
Elliott Coues 
6.50 
11.25 
3. 70 
Skin. 
PLECTROPIIANES PICT(JS, Sic. 
Painted Longspur. 
Observed only ou oue occasion, when it was found in company with 
the Chestnut-collared and Lapland Longspurs, having probably, like the 
last species, just arrived from the north. The two autumnal (young) 
specimens secured closely resemble the corresponding plumage of P. 
ornatus, though the birds are readily distinguished by certain marks. 
P.pictus is the larger of the two (length, G.50; extent, 11.25; wing, 3.75; 
tail, 2.50; tarsus, 0.75 ; middle toe and claw the same). Upper parts much 
as in the adults in summer, but the distinctive head-markings obscure COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
579 
or wanting. Entire under parts buff or rich yellowish-brown, paler on 
the chin and throat, which, like the forebreast, are obsoletely streaked 
with dusky. Tibiae white. Two or three outer feathers of the tail only 
white. Bill dusky-brown above and at the end, paler below. Feet 
light brown, toes darker. In no stage of plumage of P. ornatus are the 
under parts extensively buffy, while all the tail-feathers, excepting per- 
haps the middle pair, are white at the base. 
List of specimens. 
Coil. No. j 
H 
m 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3853 
rf 
Mouse River, Dak... 
Oct. 1,1873 
Elliott Coues 
6. 50 
11.20 
3.75 
Skin. 
3854 
9 
....do 
do 
do 
6. 40 
11. CO 
3.55 
do. 
PLEOTROPHANES ORNATCS, Towns. 
These birds were not noticed in the immediate valley of the Red River; 
but no sooner had I passed the Pembina Mountains than I found them 
in profusion. Throughout this part of the country they are wonderfully 
abundant, even exceeding in the aggregate either Baird’s Bunting or 
the Missouri Skylark. Their numbers continued undiminished to the 
furthest point reached by my party during the first season—the head- 
waters of Mouse River—and they were still in the country when I 
left, the second week in October. The next season I noticed but few 
along the Upper Missouri aud Lower Milk River, where P. maccoicni be- 
came abundant; they were more common along Frenchman’s River, but 
some little distance further westward I lost sight of them, aud in a letter 
transmitted to the “American Naturalist”, from the Two Forks of Milk 
River, I was induced to suppose I had got beyond their range; this, 
however, proved not to be the case, for subsequently 1 saw them at 
intervals till I entered the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The inter- 
esting relation between the habitat of this species and of P. maccowni is 
more fully expressed under head of the latter; here I will only advert 
to its great abundance in the whole Red River watershed west of that 
river itself, its sudden falling-off in numbers at the point where the Co- 
teau de Missouri crosses 49°, yet its persistence westward to the Rocky 
Mountains. 
My first specimens were secured July 14,1873, at which date the early 
broods were already on wiug. Uniting of several families had scarcely 
begun, however, nor were small flocks made up, apparently, till the first 
broods had, as a general thing, been left to themselves, the parents busy- 
ing themselves with a second set of eggs. Then straggling troops, con- 
sisting chiefly of birds of the year, were almost continually seen, mixing 
freely with Baird’s Buntings and the Skylarks; in fact, most of the con- 
Chestnut-collared Longspue. 580 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
gregations of the prairie birds that were successively disturbed by our ad- 
vancing wagon-trains consisted of all three of these, with a considerable 
sprinkling of Savanna Sparrows, Shore Larks, and Bay-winged Bunt- 
ings. The first eggs I secured were taken July 18, nearly a week after 
I had found young on wing; these were fresh; other nests examined 
at the same time contained newly hatched young. Again, I have found 
fresh eggs so late as the first week in August. During the second 
season, the first eggs were taken July G, and at that time there were 
already plenty of young birds flying. The laying-season must conse- 
quently reach over a period of at least two months. I was not ou the 
ground early enough to determine the commencement exactly ; but sup- 
posing a two weeks’ incubation, and about the same length of time 
occupied in rearing the young in the nest, the first batches of eggs must 
be laid early in June to give the sets of young which fly by the first of 
July. There is obviously time for the same pair to get a second, if not 
a third, brood off their hands by the end of August; I should say that 
certainly two, and probably three, broods are reared, as a rule. The 
result of all this is, that from the eud of June until the end of August 
young birds in every state of plumage, and the parents in various 
degrees of wear and tear, are all found together. The young males very 
soon show some black on the under parts, but do not gain the distinct- 
ive head-markings until the next season. The completion of general 
moult is delayed until September, to nearly the time the Prairie Chickens 
have theirs; with its completion, both old and young acquire a much 
clearer and richer plumage than that worn during the summer. While 
the summer adults rarely show the bend of the wing black, this feature 
comes out strongly in September. Comparatively few of the birds of this 
region show the mahogany-color on the under parts, described as being 
very conspicuous in those of some other portions of the country. Many 
of the females, in high plumage, are scarcely distinguishable from the 
males. The extent of white on the tail is a conspicuous feature when 
the birds are flying, serving for their instant recognition among their 
allies. There is a good deal of variation in dimensions, as indicated by 
the measurements given in the table beyond. 
The nest, of course, is placed on the ground, usually beneath some 
little tuft of grass or weeds, which effectually conceals it. Like that of 
other ground-building sparrows, it is sunk flush with the surface of the 
ground, thin at the bottom, but with thicker and tolerably firm brim; 
it consists simply of a few grasses and weed-stems, for the most part 
circularly disposed. In size, the cup is about inches across the 
brim and nearly 2 in depth. During the first season, I only found 
four eggs or young in a nest; but I afterward took one containing 
six eggs. These measure about £ long by f broad, of an ordinary 
shape. They are difficult to describe as to color, for the marking is in- 
tricate as well as very variable here as elsewhere in the genus. I have 
called them “grayish-white, more or less clouded and mottled with pale COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
581 
purplish-gray, which confers the prevailing tone; this is overlaid with 
numerous surface markings of points, scratches, and small spots of dark 
brown, wholly indeterminate in distribution and number, but always 
conspicuous, being sharply displayed upon the subdued ground color.” 
On those occasions when I approached a nest containing eggs, the 
female usually walked off quietly, after a little flutter, to some distance, 
and then took wing ; at other times, however, when there were young 
in the nest, both parents hovered close overhead, w ith continuous cries. 
During the summer, w7hen the old birds are breeding, and those of the 
year are still very young, they are very familiar and heedless, and will 
scarcely get out of the way. In September, when the large flocks make 
up, and are joined by P. pictus from the north, they become much 
wilder, fly more strongly, and are then procured with some difficulty. 
I never observed the dense flocking that some writers describe; the 
congregation I always found to be a straggling one, so that single birds 
only could be shot on the wing. In the winter, however, or during the 
migration, the case may be different. The ordinary flight is perfectly 
undulatory, and not very rapid ; but in the fall the birds have a way of 
tearing about, when startled, with a wayward course, which renders 
them difficult to shoot on the wing. The ordinary call-note is a chirp, 
of peculiar character, but not easy to describe; besides this, the males 
during the breeding-season have a pleasing twittering song, uttered 
wrhile they are flying. The chirp is usually emitted with each impulse 
of the wings. The birds scatter indiscriminately over the prairie, but 
are particularly fond of the trails made by buffalo or by wagon-trains, 
where they can run without impediment, and where doubtless they find 
food which is not so accessible upon undisturbed ground. Though so 
generally distributed, there are some spots where they are particularly 
numerous, and others again, where, for no assignable reason, they are 
not to be seen. This curious sort of semi-colonization is witnessed in 
the cases of many other prairie birds, and some of the smaller rodent 
mammals, like the pouched gophers and field-mice. 
List of specimens. 
© 
fc 
c 
O 
do 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
© 
*s 
© 
W ing. 
Nature of specimen 
and remarks. 
3255 
20 miles west Pem- 
July 14,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
5.90 
10. 70 
Skin. 
fcina Mts. 
3256 
5. 75 
10. 30 
3257 
do 
5.80 
10.40 
3256 
6. 00 
10. 65 
....do. 
3*259 
do 
.0. 00 
3201 
do 
5.70 
10.15 
3212 
5. 75 
10.00 
....do. 
3286 
J uly 15,1873 
6. 00 
10. 50 
....do. 
bina Mts. 
3287 
6.20 
10. 60 
3297 
....do 
5.80 
9. 60 
3327 
o 
July 18,1873 
Mt. 
4 eggs. 
3328 
3329 
rf 
3330 582 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
List of specimens—Continued. 
Coll. No. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
| Leugth. 
Extent. 
fci) 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen 
and remarks. 
3331 
July 18,1873 
Skin. 
Mt. 
3332 
3333 
3447 
... do. 
3448 
Mo 
....do 
3449 
....do 
do. 
3450 
3453 
Ang. 10 1h73 
.. do ... 
3465 
10.25 
Skin.'-' 
346C 
5. 80 
10. 35 
3407 
...do 
6.25 
10. 75 
3468 
do 
3469 
3470 
3473 
... do. 
3474 
6.00 
10.25 
... do. 
3492 
...do 
Aug. 11, 1873 
do 
6. 00 
10.50 
3516 
do 
Aug. 13,1873 
6.25 
10. 90 
3317 
Mo ! 
....do 
0.10 
10. 65 
3518 
.... do 
6. 30 
11. 00 
...do. 
3519 
....do 
.... do 
6. 10 
10.60 
3520 
5. 90 
10. 25 
3521 
.... do. 
3522 
...do. 
3523 
...do 
... do. 
3524 
3552 
Aug 22, 1873 
do 
Au5. 23! 1873 
3569 
Mo ; 
3588 
Aug. 27,1873 
3709 
H" 
.... do 
10. 80 
3. 30 
....do. 
3710 
d 
...do 
.... .do 
... do 
6. 25 
10. 80 
3.31 
...do. 
3711 
9 
....do 
do 
5. 90 
10. 35 
3. 20 
....do. 
3712 
... do 
...do. 
3713 
0 
....do 
5. 80 
10. 20 
3.20 
...do. 
3714 
5. 50 
10. 10 
3. 10 
do. 
3715 
3722 
.. do. 
37*23 
3724 
....do 
....do 
3725 
... do 
.... do. 
3726 
....do 
3733 
d 
Long Coteau River, 
Sept. 8,1873 
do 
C. 10 
10. 70 
3.40 
//do! 
Dak. 
4137 
cT 
July 6,1874 
Mont. 
4138 
9 
do 
eggs. 
4140 
July 7.1874 
4141 
(f 
.... do 
.../do 
do. 
4142 
4143 
(f 
...do 
4144 
9 
4145 
....do. 
4146 
4165 
$ 
4166 
r? 
4167 
41G8 
...do 
4109 
4170 
4171 
9 
...do 
4172 
4173 
....do. 
4293 
July 25,1875 
...do. 
River, Mont. 
4294 
....do 
....do. 
4300 
4404 
West Sweetgrass 
Aug. 11,1874 
— do 
Hills, Mont. 
4432 
Headwaters Milk 
Aug. 13,1874 
J. H. Batty .. 
5.75 
10.25 
3.25 
do. 
River, Mcnt. 
4434 
do 
do 
do COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
583 
PLECTROPHANES MACCOWNI, Lawr. 
Black breasted Longspur. 
This species was never seen in the Red River region, and I do not 
think it occurs in that watershed, which is so thickly populated in 
summer with P. ornatus, as already described. It seems to be one of 
the many birds that mark the natural division between that region and 
the Missouri Basin. I first encountered it June 21,1874, a day’s march 
above Fort Buford. The specimen obtained was a young one, not quite 
able to fly. As we progressed toward the Milk River, the bird grew 
more and more abundant, and it occurred throughout the country thence 
to the Rocky Mountains. There were some points on the route where 
it was scarcely to be seen (as is usually the case with the small prairie 
birds); but this was a matter of slight local distribution, for the species 
was equally numerous, “ in spots,” throughout the country. P. ornatus 
accompanied it in some numbers about as far as Frenchman’s River, 
where both species were breeding, and a few stragglers were noted 
along the whole way; but, in spite of this admixture, P. maccowni is to 
be considered the characteristic species of the genus in the Missouri 
watershed at this latitude, just as P. ornatus is in that of the Red River. 
Maccown’s Lougspur was very abundant in the country about French- 
man's River, and equally so about the headwaters of Milk River and in 
the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It does not appear, how- 
ever, to enter the mountains themselves, but stops just short of the 
beginning of the trees,—just where the Spermophili give way to the 
Geomyidw and the Badgers to the Woodchucks. Of its periods of niditi- 
cation and laying I am less precisely informed than in the case of P. 
ornatus. The fledgling taken June 21 indicates an early June brood, 
corresponding to the first one of P. ornatus ; but I took no eggs after 
July 10, when the only set in the collection was secured. Young birds 
in all stages were common from this time until the latter part of August, 
and I have no doubt that at least two broods are reared each season. 
The nidification is substantially the same as that of P. ornatus. The 
few sets of eggs I have examined are of the same size as those of the 
bird just named, and closely resemble the lighter-colored varieties of the 
latter. The ground-color, however, is dull white, without the purplish- 
gray clouding so noticeable in the eggs of V. ornatus. The markings 
are rather sparse and obscurely mottled, with some heavier, sharper, 
scratchy ones, all of different shades of brown. According to analogy, 
it is reasonable to presume upon the same wide range of variation in 
this case that is known to obtain elsew’here in the genus Plectrophanes. 
While the females are incubating, the males have a very pretty way 
of displaying themselves and of letting the music out at the same time. 
They soar to a little height, and then, fixing the extended wings at au 
angle of forty-five degrees with their bodies, sink slowly down to the 584 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
ground, singing most heartily—“ sliding down the scale of their own 
music,” as some one has happily expressed it in the case of another 
species of similar habit. This song, I think, is superior to that of the 
Chestnut-collared Bunting, though of the same general character. 
When hovering in the manner just indicated, both birds resemble 
butterflies,—there is something so light, wayward, and flickering in their 
motions. 
Coll. No. 
! Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
a 
o 
X 
W 
bt 
a 
k 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4010 
Big Muddy River, 
June 21, 1874 
Skin (nestling). 
Mont. 
4147 
d 
Frenchman’s Liver, 
July 7,1874 
— do 
6.25 
11.25 
3. 50 
Skin. 
Mont. 
4148 
d 
... do 
do 
6. 20 
11. 50 
3 45 
4149 
d 
do 
0. 00 
11 to 
4160 
d- 
do 
July 8, 1874 
... do 
6. 00 
ML 50 
i 60 
do. 
4161 
d 
.. do 
... do .... 
4162 
d 
do 
6. 30 
11 60 
do 
4163 
d 
do 
do 
do 
0. CO 
1 1. CO 
do 
4164 
9 
do 
5.75 
10. 70 
3. 30 
do 
4218 
d 
Near Frenchman’s 
July 10,1874 
.... do 
Skin, with 4 eggs. 
Kiver, Mont. 
4227 
d 
Two Forks of Milk 
July 16, 1874 
....do 
Itiver. 
young in alcohol) 
4228 
9 
do 
do. 
4241 
d 
do 
July 18,1874 
do 
Skin. 
4242 
¥ 
do 
.. do .. 
4243 
... do 
do 
4244 
...do 
do 
.. do 
4249 
.. do 
4254 
Near Two Forks of 
July 21,1874 
Milk Kiver. 
4255 
do 
42c 1 
Crossing of Milk 
July 24, 1874 
Kiver, Mont. 
4295 
do 
July 25,1874 
do 
4330 
d 
West of Sweetgrass 
Aug. 7,1874 
.. . .do. 
Hills, Mont. 
4331 
4332 
....do 
do 
4333 
do 
do 
do 
4334 
...do 
do 
do. 
4403 
do 
4425 
d 
...do 
Aug. 12’ 1874 
4426 
9 
— do 
4427 
4428 
4429 
... .do 
4441 
Headwaters Milk 
Aug. 13,1874 
.. do. 
River, Mont. 
4442 
. . do 
4443 
... do 
.. do. 
4457 
do 
Aug. 15,1874 
4458 
...do 
do 
4459 
4460 
...do 
...do 
..do. 
4161 
do 
4466 
do 
do 
. do. 
4467 
4469 
do 
do. 
4172 
do 
4473 
do 
4474 
. do. 
4498 
d 
Near Rocky Mount- 
Aug. 16,1874 
....do. 
ains, lat. 49°. 
4499 
d 
do 
... do 
4500 
d 
...do 
4501 
d 
. do 
9 
do 
do 
4 28 
9 
do 
Aug. 28,1874 
4629 
4630 
do 
....do 
4631 
...do 
4632 
....do 
4641 
d 
do 
Aug. 29,1874 
....do 
List of specimens COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
585 
List of specimens—Contiuued, 
Coll. No. 
i 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
ti 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
Aug. 30, 1874 
4660 
River, Mont. 
4661 
466-2 
4663 
4664 
4667 
d 
West of Sweetgraas 
Hills, Mont. 
Aug. 31,18T4 
4678 
rf 
...do. 
4679 
d 
4680 
d 
? 
4681 
do 
do 
PASSEECULUS BAIKDI, (And.) Cones. 
Baird’s Bunting. 
It is difficult to understand how this bird eluded observation for thirty 
years—from the time of its original discovery by Audubon, on the Upper 
Missouri, nearly to the present day. If the species were really rare, this 
would not be remarkable; but it has lately been shown to be extremely 
abundant in different parts of the West. I did not meet with it along 
the lied River itself, but found it as soon as I passed from the Pembina 
Mountains to the boundless prairie beyond. In some particular spots, 
it outnumbered all the other birds together; and on an average through 
the couutry, from the Pembina Mountains to the Mouse River, it was one 
of the trio of commonest birds,—the Skylarks and Chestnut-collared 
Longspurs being the other two. The first specimens I procured were 
taken July 14. Some of them were newly Hedged, but the great majority 
were adult males, showing that at that time the breeding-season was at 
its height. Out of thirty-one specimens secured July 14 and 15, only one 
was a female, the individuals of this sex being evidently occupied with 
the duty of incubating or brooding their young. The males at this time 
were very conspicuous, like Spizella pallida under the same circum- 
stances, as they sat singing on the weeds or low bushes of the prairie. 
The song consists of two or three distinct syllables, followed by a trill 
uttered in a mellow, tinkling tone. The nest I never succeeded in find- 
ing, although I must have passed by many. The eggs were first dis- 
covered by Mr. Allen in the region just south of me. They were taken 
July 1, 1873, the date corresponding to that which I fixed as the laying 
season from consideration of the habits of the birds. The nest and eggs 
are described from his specimens in the “Birds of the Northwest”. 
Whether or not two broods are reared, I cannot say; but some of my 
late summer specimens were so young that I judged they might belong 
to a second brood. Birds of apparently about the same age were shot 
six weeks apart. 586 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
The general habits of Baird’s Banting are much like those of Tasser- 
culus savanna, and the appearance of the two birds during life is so similar 
that it is difficult to tell them apart at any distance. The Centronix is 
not truly gregarious, but, like many other prairie birds, affects particular 
spots, which are colonized by large numbers. When the young are all 
on wing, it associates in straggling troops, mixing freely with the Sky- 
larks and Longspurs. During the summer, the plumage becomes 
extremely worn and faded ; with the moult, which occurs in September, a 
much more richly colored dress is assumed. The bird remains in this 
country" at least until October, though its numbers sensibly’ diminish 
during the preceding month. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
K 
08 
m 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
| Extent. 
tb 
0 
is 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3242 
rf 
July 14,1873 
Elliott Cones. 
Skin. 
bina Mts. 
3243 
rf 
3244 
rf 
5.25 
9. 10 
3245 
d" 
9. 40 
....do. 
3246 
rf 
...do .. 
.... do 
5. 65 
9.20 
3247 
rf 
do 
.. do ...... 
9. 30 
cf 
5.75 
9. 40 
3249 
rf 
5.75 
9.45 
3250 
9 
5. 50 
8. 87 
do 
9. 50 
3252 
rf 
9. 50 
3205 
rf 
July 15,1873 
do 
5.10 
9. 30 
....do. 
biDa Mts. 
3266 
rf 
5.70 
9. 50 
9. 70 
rf 
do . 
....do 
5.50 
9.25 
3269 
H" 
do 
...do 
5. 75 
9. 75 
3270 
rf 
do 
...do 
5. 70 
9. 70 
3271 
rf 
do 
9.30 
rf 
9. 00 
rf 
.do 
9. CO 
3274 
d 
do 
5.65 
9. no 
do. 
3275 
rf 
do 
...do 
5. 65 
9. 50 
do. 
3276 
9. 60 
...do. 
3277 
Jf 
9. 50 
5* 
do 
5. 75 
9 40 
~5* 
do 
.. do 
9. 45 
rf 
5. 75 
9. 50 
rf 
5. 40 
9.35 
do. 
rf 
5. 65 
9. 35 
... do. 
rf 
do 
5. 30 
9.00 
do. 
do 
5. CO 
9.50 
do. 
3-290 
do 
July 16,1873 
do 
do. 
9. 35 
....do 
5 65 
9. ro 
...do. 
3293 
9. 30 
do. 
...do 
....do 
5. 60 
9. 40 
cio. 
....do 
5. 65 
9.30 
do. 
do 
5.60 
9. 60 
....do. 
3303 
75 miles west Pem- 
July 17,1873 
do 
5. 40 
9.50 
2.90 
do. 
biua Mts. 
5.75 
9. 10 
2. 75 
do. 
5. 50 
9. 40 
2.80 
do. 
do 
5. 10 
9. 10 
2. 75 
...do. 
3320 
July 18,1873 
...do 
....do. 
Mountain. 
do 
... do 
do 
do. 
.. do 
....do 
....do. 
3358 
d 
Turtle Mt., Dak ... 
July 25, 1873 
do 
5. 25 
9. 40 
...do. 
do .. 
....do 
9.50 
do. 
3436 
Mouse River, Dak... 
Aug. 9,1875 
do 
5! 65 
9.20 | 
do. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
587 
List of specimens—Continued. 
Coll. No. 
Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
j Length. 
Extent. 
u 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3437 
Mouse River, Dak... 
Auz. 9,1875 
Elliott Cones 
5.50 
a go 
Skin. 
3438 
do 
do 
do 
5. 50 
9. 00 
do. 
3439 
do 
do 
...do 
5. 75 
9. 30 
...do. 
A440 
5. 70 
9. 00 
do. 
344 L 
....do 
....do ... . 
...do 
5.50 
9. 00 
....do. 
34G4 
9 
...do 
Aug. 10, 187! 
.. do 
...do. 
3488 
do 
Aug. 11,1873 
do 
5. 70 
9. 66 
do. 
3489 
....do 
do 
...do 
5. 50 
8. 85 
do. 
3507 
...do 
Aug. 13,1873 
...do 
5. 80 
9. 75 
...do. 
9. 10 
...do. 
3509 
do 
do 
...do 
5. Go 
9. 35 
do. 
3510 
do 
do 
do 
5. 05 
9. 35 
... do. 
3511 
....do 
... do 
...do 
5. Go 
9. 30 
do. 
3512 
.. do . 
5. 50 
9. 25 
do. 
3513 
do 
...do 
.. do 
5. GO 
9. 25 
do. 
3514 
do 
do 
...do 
5. G3 
9. 45 
do. 
3515 
do 
do 
do 
5. 75 
9. 30 
...do. 
3819 
do 
Oct. .1, 1873 
...do 
5. fcO 
9. GO 
3. 05 
....do. 
COTURNICULUS LECONTII, {Aud.) Bp, 
LeConte’s Bunting. 
The rediscovery of this little-known and extremely interesting species 
in Dakota was made in the season of 1873 by the Commission. On the 
march between Turtle Mountain and the first crossing of Mouse River, 
I came upon what seemed to be a small colony of the birds in a moist 
depression of the prairie, where the herbage was waist-high. By dili- 
gent search, after shooting the first specimen and perceiving what it was, 
I managed, not without difficulty, to secure five in all. This was on the 
9th of August. 1 subsequently found the bird again, and secured a sixth 
specimen, amongst the reeds of a prairie slough near the headwaters of 
the river just mentioned. So far as I could determine from short obser- 
vation, the birds are much like the Ammodromi in their general habits 
and appearance, and they inhabit similar situations. Their note was a 
chirring noise, like that of a grasshopper. They were started at random 
from the tall, waving grass, flitted in sight for a few seconds, and then 
dropped suddenly, so that the chances of shooting them were very poor. 
One was killed at very close range by a blow from the ivad of my car- 
tridge, the charge of shot having passed in lump close by. I have no 
doubt that the birds were breeding in this place, though no nests were 
found. Their retiring habits and the nature of their resorts have 
doubtless caused them to be overlooked for years. Audubon says that 
he found them common on the Upper Missouri. A specimen, in poor 
condition, from Texas, was the only one known to exist in any collection 
before these of mine were secured, Audubon’s type having been lost or 
mislaid. A redescriptiou of the species, in which it is shown that the 
characters originally assigned required modification, is given in the 
“Birds of the Northwest ”. * 588 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
© 
m 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
tb 
• a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3442 
* 
Mouse River, Dak . 
Aug. 9,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
5. 00 
7.10 
Skin. 
3443 
o 
5.00 
7. 00 
3444 
....do 
5.00 
6.90 
3445 
5.10 
6. 90 
3446 
5.25 
3743 
Sept. 9,1873 
Dak. 
PASSERCULUS SAVANNA, (Wils.) Bp. 
Savanna Sparrow. 
Breeds in profusion throughout the region explored. Though not 
exclusively a bird ot the prairie, it seems to be as much at home in the 
open plains as anywhere, associating intimately with Centronyx and 
the two leading species of Plectroplianes. It is also found, however, in 
the brush along the streams and larger rivers, which are unfrequented 
by the species just named, in company with the Melospizm and Juncones. 
A large suite of specimens was taken, a part of it, however, unin- 
tentionally, for it is not an easy matter to always distinguish between 
the Savanna Sparrow and Baird’s Bunting at gunshot range; and when 
I have killed a bird, I generally make a point of preserving it, even 
though it is not particularly wanted as a specimen, in order that its life 
may not have been taken in vain. The nest is placed on the ground, 
simply built of dried grasses, with a lining of horse hair; the eggs are 
four or five in number, in this locality usually laid in the first half of 
June. Like nearly all the Fringilline birds of this region, the Savanna 
Sparrow is frequently the Cowbird’s foster parent, and in one instance 
that came under my observation the nest contained two of the alien 
eggs. 
List of specimens. 
© 
ft 
o 
O 
£ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2792 
2364 
2865 
2883 
2884 
3254 
3263 
3264 
3265 
3343 
3344 
3360 
3382 
3497 
3565 
3597 
3707 
.... 
June 2,1873 
Juno 5,1873 
Elliott Coues 
Skin. 
5.20 
9.00 
...do 
do 
June 6,1873 
....do. 
— 
Near Pembina Moun- 
tains, Dak. 
July 14, 2873 
.... 
Turtle Mountain, 
Dak. 
July 20, 1873 
July 25,1873 
July 30,1873 
Aug. 8,1873 
Aug. 23, 1873 
Aug. 30,1873 
Sept. 2,1873 
....do. 
"d 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
—do 
do 
....do 
do 
5.60 
6. 00 
9.00 
[10. 00 
2.90 
3.00 
....do. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
589 
List of specimens—Continued. 
Coll. No. 
o 
XJ1 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
tic 
p 
£ 
N ature of specim en, 
and remarks. 
3708 
3734 
9 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Long Coteau River, 
Dak. 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Crossing of Milk Riv- 
er, Dak. 
Sept. 2,1873 
Sept. 8,1873 
Sept. 27,1873 
July 24,1874 
Elliott Coues 
5.40 
9. 00 
2.65 
Skin. 
....do. 
3831 
do. 
4262 
... do. 
4263 
4292 
•July 25,1874 
Aug. 11,1874 
4401 
West of Sweetgrass 
Hills, Mont. 
4402 
4445 
Aug. 14,1874 
Aug. 15,1874 
Aug. 16,1874 
Aug. 26,1874 
4463 
Itiver, Mont. 
4476 
Rocky Mountains, 
latitude 49°. 
do 
4616 
4617 
POCECETES GRAMINEUS, (Gm.) Bd. 
Bay-winged Bunting, or Grass Finch. 
Like tlie last, tbe present species extends over the whole region 
explored, and breeds in abundance, while the general remarks upon dis- 
tribution made in the case of the Savanna Sparrow are equally appli- 
cable here. Several nests were found at Pembina, containing eggs, 
about the middle of June. One of them also held two Molothrus eggs. 
The nests were built in open ground, quite deeply sunken, so as to be 
flush with the surface, and more substantial than those of many ground- 
builders, the walls being an inch or more thick at the brim. The cavity 
is small and deep in comparison with the whole nest. The usual ma- 
terials are grasses and weed-stalks, the coarser material outside, the 
finer fibres within and at the bottom. The eggs, of which I have not 
found more than four, measure about 0.80 by 0.55; they are grayish- 
white, heavily marked all over with spots, dashes, and blotches of red- 
dish-brown, and sprinkling of fine dots of the same or darker brown. 
The female is a close setter, not leaving the nest until nearly trodden 
upon, and then fluttering off as if crippled, to distract attention from the 
nest to herself. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
t£ 
jg 
is 
Mature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2866 
2959 
3045 
3340 
3341 
9 
9 
June 5,1873 
June 13,1373 
June 19,1873 
July 20,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
Skin. 
Skin, nest, and 4 
eggs. 
Nest, with 3 eggs, 
and 2 of Molo- 
thrus. 
Skin. 
.... 
Turtle Mountain, 
Dak. 
do 590 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
List of specmens—Continued, 
Coll. No. 
M 
- 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3342 
July 20,1873 
July 23,1873 
Aug. 2,1873 
Aug. 30,1873 
3349 
Dak. 
3393 
3596 
3730 
Long Coteau River, 
Dak. 
Sept. 8,1873 
3731 
4021 
-r 
Big Muddy River, 
Mont. 
Quaking Ash River, 
Mont. 
June 22,1874 
4032 
4033 
4261 
Crossing of Milk Riv- 
er, Mont. 
West of Sweetgrass 
Hills, Mont. 
July 24,1874 
Aug. 8,1874 
Aug. 14,1874 
4340 
4448 
4450 
River, Mont. 
do. 
4465 
Aug. 15,1874 
Aug. 16,1874 
Aug. —, 1874 
Aug. 26,1874 
....do. 
4497 
Rocky Mountains, 
latitude 49°. 
4514 
....do. 
4618 
....do. 
4619 
do 
4633 
..do 
Aug. 28,1874 
do 
SPI ZELL A MONTICOLA, {Gin.) Baird 
Tree Sparrow. 
No Tree Sparrows were observed in suinmer during either season, and 
I think none breed so far south as this. They appear in numbers with 
the general migration which brings the northern Friugillines, and which 
reaches this latitude about the 1st of October. Unlike several of the 
other species, however, they are not generally distributed, being con- 
fined to the woods, or rather the shrubbery along the streams, where 
they may be observed in small troops in company with the Snowbirds, 
and Harris’s, Lincoln’s, and White-crowned Sparrows. They are hardy 
birds, capable of enduring great cold, and I suppose that they may pass 
the winter in this latitude, as they certainly do a little distance south- 
ward in the Missouri region. I found them in considerable numbers 
at Fort Randall, Dak., during the winter of 1872-73, which they passed, 
to all appearances, very comfortably in the heavy undergrowth of the 
river-bottom. 
Coll. No. 
M 
9 
in 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3875 
.... 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Oct 5,1873 
Elliott Coues 
Skin. 
List of specimens. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
591 
SPIZELLA SOCIALIS, (Wils.) Bp. 
Chipping Sparrow. 
Specimens of this very common and familiar species were taken in 
the Pocky Mountains, and it was observed at other points where none 
were secured. It is not, however, a conspicuous feature of the avi- 
fauna of this region, most of which is not suited to its wants, and even 
at Pembina the Clay-colored Bunting takes the place which the “ Chippy v 
fills in the East. It is, in fact, absent from the greater part of the 
country surveyed. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
m 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4586 
Rocky Mountains, 
lat. 49°. 
do 
Aug. 23,1874 
Aug. 24,1874 
4593 
4599 
SPIZELLA PALLIDA, (Sic.) Bp. 
Clay-colored Bunting. 
The Western Meadow Lark, Brewer’s Blackbird, and the present spe- 
cies were the chief birds I observed at Pembina to indicate an avifauna 
in any wise different from that of the Eastern Province at large, and 
two of these cannot be considered very strong marks, since they both 
occur some distance farther eastward. Upon my arrival, the 1st of 
June, these Buntings were all paired, the males were in full song, nidifi- 
cation was mostly finished, and the eggs were about to be laid. The 
first specimen procured, June 2, contained a fully formed egg. A nest 
taken June 5 was scarcely completed. The first complement of eggs 
was taken June 11; it numbered four. I think the eggs are mostly laid 
by the end of the second week in June. The nest is placed in bushes, 
generally within a few inches of the ground. It resembles that of the 
Chipbird, though it is not so neatly and artistically finished, and often 
lacks the horse hair lining, which is so constant and conspicuous a fea- 
ture of the latter. In size it averages about three inches across outside 
by two in depth, with a cavity two inches wide and one and a half 
inches deep. The structure is of fine grasses and slender weed-stalks, 
with or without some fine rootlets, sometimes lined with hair, like the 
Chippy’s, sometimes with very fine grass-tops. It is placed in a crotch 
of the bush or in a tuft of weeds. The copses of scrubby willows I 
found to be favorite nesting-places, though auy of the shrubbery along 
the river-bank seemed to answer. On those occasions when I approached 
a nest containing eggs, the female fluttered silently and furtively away, 
without venturing a protest. The eggs I found in one case to be depos- 592 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
ited daily till the complement was filled. They measure 0.G2 in length 
by 0.50 in breadth on an average. The ground-color is light dull green, 
sparsely but distinctly speckled with some rich and other darker shades 
of brown, these markings being chiefly confined to the larger end, or 
wreathed about it, though there are often a few specks here and there 
over the rest of the surface. From the earliness of the first sets of 
eggs, I suppose that two broods may be reared each season. 
The Buntings were very numerous about Pembina, and during the 
breeding-season became conspicuous from the habit of the males at this 
season of mounting to the tops of the bushes and singing continually. 
The song is simple, but voluble and earnest, as if the birds gave the 
whole of their minds to it—as is doubtless the fact. It consists of three 
notes and a trill. The song ceases with the end of the breeding-season, 
when the birds retain nothing but their slight chirp. With its cessa- 
tion, the characteristic breeding-habit of mounting the bushes is given 
up, and the birds become less conspicuous, though really more numerous 
than ever, from the accession of the new broods. They then go in little 
troops, which haunt all the shrubbery and mix intimately with the other 
Sparrows which frequent like situations. They are not, however, to be 
found on the prairie at any considerable distance from woods or shrubby 
undergrowth. As the season advanced, and during my progress west- 
ward, I found them in equal abundance on Pembina and Turtle Mount- 
ains and along the Mouse Iliver. 
The next season none were noticed in the Upper Missouri country. 
They cannot be so numerous in this region, for I could hardly have 
overlooked them altogether. Nevertheless, they extend across the 
country to the Rocky Mountains, as specimens were procured west of 
the Sweetgrass Hills. 
List of specimens, 
Coll. No. 
M 
£ 
Ui 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
! Length. 
1 Extent. 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2790 
o 
egg ready for ex- 
t fusion. 
2833 
....do 
June 4, 1873 
do 
5.25 
7.25 
Skin. 
2e56 
d" 
do 
June 5,1873 
do 
5.00 
7. GO 
...do. 
28.77 
Q 
5.10 
7. 50 
2858 
5.30 
7. GO 
28C7 
<lo 
Nos. 2857, 2858. 
2879 
5. 40 
7.70 
Skin. 
2880 
5. 50 
8.00 
...do. 
2881 
d 
...do 
do 
...do 
5. 40 
7. 70 
...do. 
28?»2 
Q 
5.20 
7. 40 
June 7 1873 
5. 25 
7. 75 
...do. 
5. 30 
7.50 
...do. 
2903 
O 
5.20 
7. GO 
.... do. 
2004 
5. 50 
7. 70 
....do. 
2905 
d 
....do 
do 
....do 
5.20 
7.40 
do. 
5. 30 
7.90 
do 
5.50 
7.70 
2008 
5. 30 
7. 80 
....do. 
2000 
....do 
5. 50 
7.90 
2930 
do 
June 11,1873 
do 
Nest, with 4 eggs. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
593 
List of specimens—Continued. 
6 
fc 
S3 
o 
O 
■M 
£ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
a 
© 
W 
b£ 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
‘2936 
June 11 1873 
5.10 
7.60 
‘2967 
cT 
June 13,1873 
June 14, 1873 
....do 
‘2979 
5. 00 
7.50 
2966 
5.75 
Skin ; nest -with 3 
eggs. 
Skin; nest with 4 
eggs. 
2967 
2995 
rf 
June 16,1873 
June 22, 1873 
July 15,1873 
July 16,1873 
July 20,1873 
5.25 
7.60 
3118 
3285 
5.40 
8.00 
3298 
bina Mountains. 
3338 
Turtle Mt., Dak 
3339 
3346 
July 23,1873 
3347 
3348 
3388 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
July 30,1873 
3389 
3394 
Aug. 2,1873 
Aug. 8,1873 
Aug. 13,1873 
Aug. 30, 1873 
Sept. 8,1873 
Sept. 22,1873 
3416 
3490 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
4.65 
aeo 
3598 
3735 
3804 
3805 
.... 
Long Coteau River, 
Dak. 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
....do 
— do 
5.25 
5.60 
5.90 
7.50 
7.75 
8.10 
2.30 
2.40 
2.50 
... do. 
do. 
4339 
West of Sweetgrass 
Hills. 
Aug. 8,1874 
Aug. 9,1874 
4372 
5.35 
8.50 
2.80 
do. 
JUNCO HYEMALIS, (Linn.) Set. 
Eastern Snowbird. 
The Suowbird appeared along the Mouse Kiver about the middle of 
September in troops, as usual, and at once became abundant. I had 
expected to find it breeding on Pembina and Turtle Mountains, and 
still judge it likely that it does so, though it did not come under my ob- 
servation. It may not be generally known that in the Eastern States 
it breeds as far south as Virginia and the Carolinas, if not still farther. 
While on the South Virginian Alleghanies, in the summer of 1875, at 
an altitude of about 5,000 feet, I scared a female off her nest, which 
contained four eggs. This southerly breeding-range in the mountains 
explains the sudden appearance of the birds upon the first cold snap in 
October. While in the Rocky Mountains, in August, 1874, I expected 
to find either this species or J. oregonus, but none appeared in the 
vicinity of our camp. The Mouse River specimens seem to be pure 
hyemails, though the Zonotrichia of this same locality is Z. intermedia, 
not Z. lencophrys. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
V 
CO 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3767 
3876 
cf’ 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Sept. 16,1873 
Oct. 5,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
Skin. 594 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
ZOXOTRICHIA QUERULA, {Nutt.) Gamb. 
Harris’s Finch. 
A fine series of specimens of this handsome and interesting Finch 
was secured at our Mouse River Depot duriug the latter half of Sep- 
tember and beginning of October. Its breeding-grounds are as yet 
unknown; but these birds, at any rate, came from the north, and, as I 
was out every day with my gun about that time, the earliest date given 
below (September 18) probably indicates very nearly the time of their 
arrival. The previous year I had observed the birds at Fort Randall, 
Dakota, in October; but none remained through the winter in that 
locality. According to Prof. F. H. Snow, of Kansas, they winter in 
that State, and they have been observed by others in abundance during 
the migrations along the Lower Missouri, in Missouri and Iowa. I saw 
none at Pembina, where I suppose I arrived after they had passed on. 
The distribution of the species is very limited, and, as already observed, 
its breeding-range is not yet made out. My Mouse River specimens are, 
1 think, the westernmost hitherto recorded. These were all in fall plu- 
mage, apparently of the first year, though a portion of the White- 
crowned Sparrows that came with them had perfect head-markings. 
They came very quietly from the north, and all at once thronged the 
bushes and shrubbery along the banks of the stream, in company with 
several other brush-loving Fringillines. At this period, they were song- 
less, and had no note excepting a weak chirp. When disturbed at their 
avocations, they have a habit of flying up to the tops of the bushes to 
see what the fuss is about, and in this conspicuous position they may of 
course be readily destroyed. Their general habits appear to be much 
the same as those of the other Zonotrichice, though their large size, red- 
dishness, and heavy dark markings underneath make them look some- 
what like Fox Sparrows. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
© 
Cfi 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
| Extent. 
bi) 
a 
£ 
Natureof specimen, 
and remarks. 
:mo 
d1 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Sept. 18,1873 
Elliott Cones. 
7. 75 
11.25 
3. 50 
Skin. 
3771 
d 
— do 
do 
— do 
7. 50 
11. 10 
3. 40 
... do. 
3772 
<~r 
7.25 
10. 85 
3. 40 
3788 
do 
Sopt. 19,1873 
do 
7. 40 
11.20 
3.50 
... do. 
3806 
Sept,. 22 1873 
7. 30 
10. 70 
3. 40 
3807 
10.20 
3.00 
3837 
...do 
Sept. 30,1873 
do 
7.50 
11.25 
3. 40 
... do. 
3838 
do 
do 
do 
7. 00 
10.90 
3. 40 
. .do. 
3871 
d 
do 
Oct. 3,1873 
do 
7.60 
11.25 
3.40 
...do. 
ZOXOTRICHIA LEUCOPHRYS INTERMEDIA, Iiidg, 
Ridgway’s Sparrow. 
I was rather surprised to find that the White-crowned Sparrows of 
ttie Mouse River country were of this variety instead of typical leuco- COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
595 
phrys, but such was the case, as shown beyond question by some of the 
specimens taken with perfect head-dress. In the Rocky Mountains, this 
variety was of course to be expected. In the latter region, specimens 
were procured in August, probably bred in the vicinity, as no migration 
had then begun ; but in the rest of the country explored, no Zonotrichicc 
were seen until the coming of the fall birds, when they became at once 
abundant in the shrubbery of the streams, about the middle of Sep- 
tember. 
List of specimens. 
6 
& 
o 
O 
M 
V 
rXi 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
fc& 
P 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3773 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Sept. 18,1873 
Elliott Cones. 
6.25 
9.10 
2. 95 
Skin. 
3774 
6. 60 
9. 60 
3.00 
...do. 
3775 
6.75 
10. 00 
3.10 
3776 
6. 70 
9. 90 
3.05 
3777 
6. 75 
10. 00 
3.05 
3778 
7. 00 
10. 20 
3.20 
;;:du.' 
3792 
do 
Sept. 19,1873 
do 
6. 50 
9.50 
2.90 
... do. 
3793 
do 
do 
...do 
6. 30 
9. 10 
2. 80 
. do. 
3808 
do 
Sept. 22,1873 
do 
6. 50 
9. 70 
3. 10 
.. do. 
3809 
6.85 
10. 00 
3. 10 
...do. 
3810 
6. 65 
9. 65 
3. 00 
3811 
3812 
7. 00 
10. 00 
3.10 
3800 
do 
Sept. 30, 1873 
....do 
6. 75 
9. 75 
3. 15 
... do. 
4533 
Aug. 20,1874 
latitude 49°. 
4564 
Aug. 22,1874 
MELOSPIZA LINCOLNI, (Awl) lid. 
Lincoln’s Finch. 
Observed in large numbers during the latter part of September and 
beginning of October, along the Mouse River. It arrived from the north 
at the same time that the Snowbirds and Zonotricliice did, and during 
the summer was only observed in the Rocky Mountains late in August. 
It is a species of general distribution in North America, but it may be 
questioned whether it breeds anywhere in this latitude except in the 
Rocky Mountains. As observed along Mouse River, it was a shy and 
secretive bird, spending its time near the ground in the tangle along 
the river-bottom, and plunging into the thickest retreats upon slight 
alarm, with a low, rapid, jerky flight. The only note I heard was a 
slight chirp. Altogether its habits appear to most closely resemble 
those of the Swamp Sparrow, to which it is so nearly related in physi- 
cal characters. 596 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
List of specimens. 
6 
yA 
*© 
O 
j Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
| 
2 
H 
W 
bio 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3763 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Sept. 16,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
5.75 
7.80 
2.50 
Skin. 
3764 
do 
do 
do 
5. 75 
7. 75 
2.50 
... do. 
3784 
Sept. 18,1873 
5. 75 
7. 75 
2. 40 
3789 
Sept. 19’ 1873 
5, 75 
7. 90 
2. 40 
3813 
Sept. 22’ 1873 
6. 00 
8. 25 
2. 50 
3814 
6.10 
a 20 
2.50 
3815 
5. 80 
7. 80 
2. 40 
3816 
5.85 
a 30 
2. 50 
3874 
Oct. 5,1873 
5. 50 
&10 
2. 50 
4589 
Aug. 23,1874 
latitude 49°. 
MELOSPIZA PALUSTRIS, (Wils.) Bd. 
Swamp Sparrow. 
This is another of the several species of the family which were ob- 
served during the autumnal movement at the camp on Mouse Kiver, 
from the middle of September until I left the country, the second week 
in October. It haunts the closest and most impenetrable shrubbery, to 
which it clings with such pertinacity that it is liable to be overlooked 
unless diligently sought for. I have seldom seen it in plain view, and 
never, to my recollection, at any distance from the ground, or on the 
outskirts of the undergrowth. It has been commonly considered con- 
fined to the Eastern Province, and the specimens below enumerated 
are, with one exception, the westernmost hitherto recorded. Dr. H. C. 
Yarrow, however, found it in Southern Utah some four years ago. The 
difficulty of tracing it westward, where it seems to be less abundant than 
it is in the Atlantic districts, is probably one reason why its distribution 
was long supposed to be more restricted than it really is. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
| Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. . 
i 
Wing. | 
Nat are of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3762 
Sept. 16, 1873 
3790 
Sept. 19,1873 
3791 
3830 
Sept. 27 1873 
5 60 
H 10 
i 35 
3867 
Oct- 1 1873 
5. 90 
8.10 
2. 50 
3873 
9 
do 
Oct. 5,1873 
....do 
5.50 
7. 70 
2.25 
... do. 
MELOSPIZA MELODIA, (Wils.) Bd. 
Song Sparrow. 
By an oversight, I stated in the “ Birds of the Northwest” that I did 
not find this species in Northern Dakota. A specimen, however, was 
procured at Turtle Mountain early in August. It appears to be rare in 
this part of the country, as this was the only one taken, and I find no 
record respecting it except in my register of specimens. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
597 
List of specimens. 
6 
& 
S3 
o 
U 
© 
rjj 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
tx 
p 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3395 
Turtle Mount’n.Dak. 
Aug. 2,1873 
Elliott Cones. 
Skin. 
CALAMOSPIZA BICOLOR, {Towns.) Bp 
Lakk Bunting. 
The apparent absence of this species from the Red River region, with 
its abundance on the Missouri, is one of the strong marks of difference 
in the fauna of the two watersheds. It is an abundant and characteristic 
species of the sage-brush country of the Upper Missouri, and extends 
thence to the Rocky Mountains through the Milk River region. Speci- 
mens were taken soon after leaving Fort Buford, and others at various 
points to the headwaters of Milk River. The bird is rather a late 
breeder, unless the eggs found July 9 and 21 were those of a second 
brood, which is probable, since at no time did I hear the mating song 
of the males, or wituess the singular aerial excursions which mark the 
same period of the bird’s life, like those of the Yellow-breasted Chat. 
The earliest male specimens procured were already in worn and faded 
plumage. The eggs are four or five in number, measuring 0.80 to 0.95 
in length by about 0.G5 in breadth; they are pale bluish-green, like those 
of Sialia, and normally unmarked, though occasionally sparsely dotted. 
Two Cowbird eggs were found in one of the nests secured. The nest is 
.sunken in the ground, so that the brim is flush with the surface, and is 
built of grasses and weed-stalks, lined with similar but finer ma.terial. 
Coll. No. 
M 
£ 
rJl 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
fl 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4034 
Quaking Ash River, 
Mont. 
June 26,1674 
4035 
4183 
July 9,1874 
Nest with 2 eggs 
and of 2 Molo- 
thrus. 
4186 
River, Mont. 
4248 
jf 
July 18,1874 
July 21,1874 
Ang. 8,1874 
4250 
River. 
Set of 4 eggs. 
4341 
rf 
Milk River. 
West of Sweetgrass 
Hills, Mont. 
4342 
rf 
4343 
rf 
4344 
j 
1 4373 
cf 
Ang. 9,1874 
6. 75 
10.35 
3. 40 
-do. 
List of specimens 598 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
GONIAPHEA LUDOYICIANA, {Linn.) Bowd. 
Rose-breasted Grosbeak. 
I was pleased to find this truly elegant bird breeding in abundance 
at Pembina in the undergrowth of the heavy timber along the banks of 
the Red River, as I had never before enjoyed a good opportunity of 
studying its habits. It was not observed at auy other point along the 
Line, though stated to penetrate as far northward as the Saskatchewan 
region. A fine suite of specimens was carefully preserved, and several 
sets of eggs procured. The birds were mating and in full song by the 
beginning of June, when I arrived upon the spot, but no nests were 
found until the21st. Four was the largest number found in a nest; others 
contained only two or three, but in all incubation had begun. The only 
nest I took myself was built in a thick grove of saplings, about eight 
feet from the ground; it contained three eggs averaging an inch in 
length by three-fourths in breadth. These were of a pale dull green 
color, profusely speckled with reddish-brown. The nests were rather 
rude and bulky structures, about six inches across outside by four 
in depth, with the cavity only half as much each way, owing to the 
thickness of the loose walls. They were built entirely of the slender 
tortuous stems and rootlets of some climbing shrub, for the most part 
loosely interlaced, though more firmly, evenly, and circularly laid 
around the brim, and finished sometimes with a little horse hair lining, 
sometimes without. The male at this season has a delightful song. The 
female is, however, nearly voiceless, and of extremely retiring disposi- 
tion. 
Coll. No. 
H 
© 
3D 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
•g 
t£ 
P. 
© 
a 
H 
W 
tc 
a 
$ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2794 
cf 
7. 75 
12. 75 
2795 
nr 
7. 75 
12. 75 
2796 
d 
7. 75 
12. 75 
2797 
8.10 
13. 00 
2796 
8. 00 
12. 50 
2641 
d 
8.00 
13. 00 
2842 
5 
7. 75 
12. 75 
....do. 
2831 
cf 
June 5 1873 
8. 10 
12. 75 
2852 
rf 
7.75 
12.50 
2928 
rf 
June 9 1873 
7. 80 
12.00 
::;.d0: 
2929 
rC 
do 
— do 
do 
8.00 
13. 00 
...do. 
9 
June 13 1873 
7.90 
12. 90 
3085 
June 21, 1873 
3113 
... do . 
3129 
June 23,1873 
3170 
cT 
...do 
June 25,1873 
do 
Skin. 
List of specimens. 
PIPILO ERYTHROPHTHALMUS, (Linn.) VieiU. 
Towhee Bunting. 
The Pipilo of the Red River Valley is clearly referable to true ery- 
throphthalmus, though even in this locality, decidedly Eastern in the eorn- 599 
COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
plexion of its avifauna, there is a slight tendency toward the characters 
of maculatus var. arcticus. 
The bird was not uncommon about Pembina, where it was breeding 
in June. A nest was taken June 11, containing two eggs that belonged 
in it, together with three that did not, having been deposited by the 
Cowbirds. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
A 
Zj 
V2 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Vi 
Q 
V 
W 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2802 
2803 
2931 
297C 
d 
Pembina, Dak 
....do 
June 3, 1873 
Elliott Coues 
8.25 
11.50 
Skin. 
June 11,1873 
June 14, 1873 
? 
....do 
....do 
7. 75 
10.75 
and 3 eggs of Jfo- 
Icthras. 
PIP1LO MACULATUS ARCTICUS, {Sw.) Cones. 
Spotted Towhee. 
Along the parallel of 49°, this form becomes established at least as far 
east as the Mouse River, where I secured a specimen in September. 
Along the Missouri, erythrophtlialmns prevails, according to Dr. Hayden, 
up to latitude 43°, beyond which it is replaced by the present. The 
Spotted Towhees were found to be abundant along the Upper Missouri, 
above Port Buford, in the undergrowth of the river-bottoms; were not 
noticed along the tributaries of the Milk River, which are less suited 
to their wants, nor of course on the open prairie between the successive 
northern affluents. They were again met with, however, in the Rocky 
Mountains. It is also known to extend northward into the Saskatche- 
wan country. Excepting its different call-note, which curiously resem- 
bles that of a Catbird, its habits and manners are the counterpart of 
those of the Eastern form. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
<L 
m 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
! Extent. 
• 
m iNature of specimen 
■p ! and remarks. 
1 
3760 
4029 
•••• 
MouseRiver, Dak... 
Quaking Ash River, 
Mont. 
Sept. 16,1873 
June 26,1874 
Elliott Cones 
1 Skin. 
... do. 
DOLIOHOXYX ORYZIYORUS, {Linn.) Sw. 
Bobolink. 
At Pembina, in June, Bobolinks were breeding in large numbers on 
the open prairie adjoiuing the river. Tbe ground near the river has a 
meadowy character, which seems to exactly suit them, and they were 600 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
evidently perfectly at home. The gaily dressed males, in the pink of 
perfection as to their nuptial attire, and singing with the utmost volu- 
bility, were very conspicuous objects all over the prairie; but the secretive 
and homely females were seldom observed unless accidentally flushed 
from the grass. The nest is so well hidden that I did not discover one, 
though I searched long and carefully on more than one occasion; and 
I am therefore unable to state the exact period of laying. To judge from 
the actions of the birds and the complete separation and hiding of the 
females, incubation was in progress by the second week in June. 
On the same parallel of latitude, I traced the species westward quite to 
the llocky Mountains, where it was not uncommon in August about 
Chief Mountain Lake. In the Upper Missouri country, however, I 
failed to observe a single individual. The sterile, alkaline, and sage- 
brush nature of most of this region seems to be ill-suited to its wants. 
The very highly plumaged specimens taken at Pembina have been made 
by Mr. Ii. Ridgway the basis of a var. albinucha, the bufl'y patch upon the 
back of the neck being nearly w hite in these cases. 
List of specimens. 
| Coll. No. 
H 
■1 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
a 
3 
M 
H 
bfi 
a 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2860 
d 
June 5,1873 
7.25 
12. 10 
Skin 
2863 
cf 
7. 10 
11.90 
2885 
d 
2886 
9 
do. 
2988 
cf 
June 14,1873 
do 
2989 
d 
2990 
d 
3236 
d 
July 8,1873 
July 15,1873 
Aug. 16,1873 
Aug. 26,1874 
3288 
9 
...do 
6.90 
11.00 
3534 
bina Mountains. 
MouseRiver, Dak... 
Rocky Mountains, 
latitude 49°. 
4614 
d 
4615 
d 
MOLOTHRUS ATER, (Bodd.) Gray. 
Cowbird. 
I have nowhere found the Oowbird more abundant than it is in sum- 
mer throughout the region surveyed by the Commission. Even were 
the birds not seen, ample evidence of their presence in numbers would 
be found in the alien eggs with which a majority of the smaller birds of 
that country are pestered. Scarcely any species, from the little Fly- 
catcher (E. minimus) and the Clay-colored Bunting up to the Towhee 
and Kingbird, escapes the infliction. The breeding species are there 
fewer than in many or most localities in the East, though abounding in 
Individuals j both of which circumstances tend to increase the propor- 
tion of cases in which the parasitism is accomplished. It has been cus- 
tomary—and very properly so—to record the various species which suffer 
from the Cowbird; but it seems probable that when the whole truth is COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
601 
known very few of those that breed within the Cowbird’s summer range 
will be found to be passed over—among those whose eggs are not con- 
siderably larger than its own, and whose nests are accessible to the 
vagrant. 
Although, as I have said, the Cowbirds are distributed over the whole 
country, yet they focus iu and about the settlements; and by the same 
token they seem to follow the travelling parties and camp with them. 
The same is the case iu all other parts of the West where I have observed 
the bird. They are like the small wolves (coyotes) in this respect. Being 
rarely molested, they acquire a wonderful heedlessuess, and ramble uncon- 
cernedly through the camp under the feet of the horses and mules, and 
almost under our own. Iu July and August particularly, when the year’s 
young are first on wing, gathering in small troops, they appear to have no 
comprehension of danger whatever, and are occasionally punished with a 
crack from the “black-snake” of some facetious teamster,—and, unlike 
a mule, they are never of auy use afterward. One was actually caught 
by hand as it fluttered about a man’s head, apparently intending to 
alight upon what it may have supposed to be a peculiar mule. Some 
time in August the birds become less numerous, apparently moving off 
somewhere. There seems to be something not yet clearly understood in 
their movements at this season. How long they actually remain in the 
country I am unable to say. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
* 
© 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
r£3 
% 
a 
© 
Extent. 
bfD 
P 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2840 
2932 
3046 
3078 
3079 
3080 
3087 
3106 
3229 
3230 
3231 
:i237 
3238 
:1239 
3307 
3452 
3554 
3555 
3556 
3557 
4184 
41856iv 
d 
Pembina, Dak 
June 4,1873 
June 11,1873 
June 19,1873 
June 20,1873 
Elliott Coues 
7. 75 
13.50 
Skin. 
Three eggs in nest 
of Pipilo. 
Two eggs in nest of 
Spizella pallida. 
Skin. 
d 
June 21,1873 
June 22,1873 
July 7,1873 
Egg in nest of Em- 
pxdonax minima*. 
Skin. 
9 
d 
d 
d 
d 
d 
d 
July 8,1873 
...do. 
75 miles west of Pem- 
bina Mountains. 
Mouse River, Dak... 
July 17,1873 
Aug. 9,1873 
Aug. 22,1873 
.... 
Near Frenchman's 
River, Mont. 
July 9,1874 
Two eggs from nest 
of Ocdamosjnza. 
One egg from nest 
of Tyrannus caro- 
linensis. 602 
bulletin united states geological survey. 
AGEL2EUS PIKENICEUS, {Linn.) Vieill. 
Red-winged Blackbird. 
Although inhabiting the country at large, at least as far northwest as 
the region of the Saskatchewan, the Marsh Blackbird is necessarily 
somewhat localized in the details of its distribution, owing to the re- 
quirements of its economy. It is certainly not a conspicuous feature of 
the region surveyed, the greater portion of which is unsuited to its 
wants. Even at Pembina it was not the leading Blackbird, being out- 
numbered both by the Yellowheads and Brewer’s. I find in my note- 
books no record of observation respecting it except in this locality, but 
this may have been my fault of neglecting to note the occurrence of so 
common a species at other points. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3052 
3053 
cf 
9 
Pembina, Dak 
Jnne 19,1873 
Elliott Coues 
Skin. 
XANTnOCEPIIALUS ICTEROCEPHALUS, (Bp.) Bd. 
Yellow headed Blackbird. 
In the breeding season, the Yellow-headed Blackbird gathers in colo- 
nies on some marshy spot. I have observed it at this period in various 
portions of the West, from Northern Dakota to New Mexico, always 
noting its preference at this time for watery localities, however gener- 
ally it may disperse over the country at other seasons. Its general 
distribution and migrations are given in my account of the species in 
the “American Naturalist” (v. 1871, p. 11)5) and “Birds of the North- 
west” (p. 188). It is stated by Richardson to be abundant in the Fur 
Countries to about 58° north, reaching the Saskatchewan region by the 
20th of May. 
At Pembina it was breeding abundantly in the prairie sloughs, 
together with great numbers of Black Terns and a few Redwings. In 
one of the sloughs where I spent most of the day wading about, some- 
times up to my waist aud in some spots considerably deeper (as I was 
discouraged to find on getting into them), a large number of nests were 
found, mostly containing nestlings, but a few with eggs. This the last 
week of June. The nests were built much like those of the Long-billed 
Marsh Wren, as far as the situation goes, being fixed to a tuft of reeds or 
bunch of tall rank marsh-grass, some stems of which pass through the 
substance. They were placed at varying elevations, but always far 
enough above the water to be out of danger of inundation. The nest COUES ON BIRDS OP DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
603 
is a light, dry, rustling structure, swaying with the motion of the reed 
to which it is affixed, built of the same materials as those which sup- 
port it, which are woven and plaited together; no mud is used, nor is 
there any special lining; the brim is thick and somewhat folded over, 
like the seam of a garment ; but I never saw a nest, among the many 
examined, which was arched over, as stated by some authors. The 
diameter outside is 5 or G inches, and the depth nearly as much. From 
three to six eggs or young birds were found in different nests; the 
former measure from about an inch and an eighth in length by three- 
fourths in breadth. The ground-color is grayish-green; this is thickly 
spotted with different shades of reddish-brown, sometimes so profusely 
that the ground-color is obscured, especially at the larger end. 
Since I stated, in the “ Birds of the Northwest ”, that I had not then 
seen the species on the Missouri higher up than Leavenworth, I observed 
it above Buford during the season of 1874. 
Lint of specimens, 
Coll. No. 
M 
£ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
bC 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen 
and remarks. 
3005 
$ 
June 17,1873 
10. 00 
16. 25 
3006 
(f 
...do 
10. 00 
16. 30 
3007 
o 
8.00 
13. 65 
3008 
10. 25 
16. 75 
3009 
$ 
...do 
3010 
(f 
....do 
3011 
(f 
3012 
3013 
3014 
...do 
3015 
cf 
3105 
9 
...do 
3166 
9 
8. 25 
13. 75 
4. 60 
3107 
9 
3168 
3169 
rf 
10. 50 
16. 50 
5.60 
3182 
rf 
June 27.1873 
3183 
do 
3184 
3185 
3396 
Aug. 2,1873 
Skin (young). 
Dak. 
3491 
9 
Aug. 13.1873 
8. 70 
14. 10 
Skin. 
cf 
Aug. 22,1873 
10.30 
17. 00 
3551 
d 
do 
•--•do 
10. 75 
17.25 
...do. 
STURNELLA MAGNA NEGLECTA, And, 
Western Meadow Lark. 
A11 the Meadow Larks observed in this region, even at Pembina, where 
the fauna is so thoroughly Eastern, were typical neglecta. They are a 
common bird of the whole country, though perhaps less numerous as we 
approach the Rocky Mountains, in the very arid Milk River region. 
They are fond of good soil, and seemed to me to be scarcely so abundant, 
even in the Red River region, as I had observed them to be in more fer- 
tile portions of Southwestern Dakota, as the vicinity of Fort Randall, 
for example, and thence to Sioux City. They reach this part of the 
country early in April. Toward the end of June, in the region above 604 
BULLETIN united states geological survey. 
Fort Buford, several sets of eggs were procured, and at the same time 
young birds were already on wing. 
6 
© 
O 
| Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
bi 
% 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2853 
3042 
9 
Pembina, Dak 
Jnne 5,1873 
June 17,1873 
.Tune 21,1873 
Jnne 30, 1873 
July 20,1873 
Aug. 2,1873 
Elliott Couen 
10. 65 
14.50 
Skin. 
3103 
3213 
rf 
3336 
T nr tie Mountain, 
Dak. 
3402 
3403 
4023 
Big Muddy River, 
Mont. 
Quaking Ash River, 
Monk 
Porcupine River, 
Mont. 
June 22,1874 
Jnne 26,1874 
June 28,1874 
4028 
Three eggs. 
Five eggs. 
4079 
List of specimens. 
ICTERUS SPURIUS, (Linn.) Bp. 
Orchard Oriole. 
One specimen, early in June, at Pembina, the only locality where 
observed. 
List of specimens. 
o 
'A 
a 
o 
O 
eg 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Lergth. 
Extent. 
WiDg. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2897 
Pembina, Dak 
Jane 6,1873 
Elliott Cones. 
Skin. 
ICTERUS BALTIMORE, (Linn.) Baud. 
Baltimore Oriole. 
Abundant at Pembina, the only locality where it was found. Like 
the Bobolinks of this region, the Orioles acquire an extremely brilliant 
plumage, in which the usual orange is often heightened into an intense 
flame-color. The same intensity of coloration has been noted by Mr. 
Allen in the cases of the Kansas Orioles. Several nests with eggs were 
taken during the latter part of the month of June. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
* 
& 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
3 
£ 
Nature of specimen 
and remarks. 
2793 
2833 
2834 
2940 
2941 
2942 
2991 
3121 
3210 
3234 
d 
d 
d 
d 
d 
d 
d 
June 2,1873 
June 4,1873 
Elliott Coues 
Skin. 
7.90 
7.90 
12.30 
12. 30 
Jud© 11,1873 
June 14,1873 
June 22,1873 
June 28,1873 
July 8,1873 
....do 
Nest with 3 eggs. 
Nest with 4 eggs. 
Skin. 
d COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
605 
SCOLECOPHAGUS CYANOCEPHALUS, (Wagl.) Cab. 
Blue-headed Grackle. 
This is the characteristic Blackbird of the whole region in summer. 
Hundreds spend this season at Fort Pembina. It is no less abundant 
at Fort Buford, and in fact extends over the whole area-. This is prob- 
ably near its northern limit. Its general range includes the whole of 
the United States, from a little west of the Mississippi to the Pacific. 
It breeds indifferently throughout this area, but retires in winter from 
the northern portions of its habitat. In summer, it is the only repre- 
sentative of its genus in Dakota and Montana, but in the fall, after the 
migration, it is associated with 8. ferrugineus. A nest containing three 
eggs was taken on the Quaking Ash River, Montana, Juue 26, 1874. 
A full account of the habits of the species will be found in the “ Birds 
of the Northwestr, pp. 199-202. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
a> 
m 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
bl) 
•9 
* 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2961 
d 
■June 14,1873 
2997 
i 
9.75 
16. 50 
5. 70 
2998 
9 
9. 00 
15. 00 
4. 75 
3043 
cT 
3055 
d 
June 19’ 1873 
...do. 
3077 
d 
3107 
d 
3108 
cf 
3109 
? 
3134 
d 
June 24,1873 
3135 
d 
3705 
cf 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Sept. 16,1873 
do 
9.75 
15.20 
4.80 
do. 
3766 
9 
...do 
9. 50 
14. 85 
4. 60 
3795 
d 
do 
Sept. 19,1873 
do 
10. 10 
16.00 
5.15 
do. 
3796 
d 
10 15 
16.25 
5.15 
3797 
cf 
....do 
do 
do 
10.25 
16.30 
5.25 
do. 
3798 
v 
9. 70 
15.25 
4.90 
3799 
9.00 
14.50 
4.50 
3800 
do 
9.50 
14.80 
4.75 
3641 
d 
Sept. 30,1873 
9. 30 
15.00 
4. 70 
3842 
9.00 
13. 75 
4.25 
...do. 
3843 
o 
9.10 
13. 80 
4. 25 
3844 
Q 
9. 00 
13.65 
4.20 
3845 
O 
a 90 
13. 70 
4.25 
3846 
Q 
9.10 
14.00 
4. 35 
3847 
d 
9.50 
14. 50 
4. 40 
3848 
d 
9. 60 
14.75 
4. 60 
3872 
d 
do 
Oct. 3,1873 
do 
9.50 
14.70 
4.60 
do. 
4027 
June 26,1874 
Nest with 3 eggs. 
* MontT 
4627 
— 
Rocky Mts., lat. 49° 
Ang. 28,1874 
Skin. 
Note —The above list includes some specimens (from Mouse River) of S. ferrugineus, not now extri- 
cable without reference to the specimens themselves, the numbers having been confused; but the 
summer birds are all cyanocephalui. 
SCOLECOPHAGUS FERRUGINEUS, (Gm.)Su'. 
Rusty Grackle. 
The Rusty Grackle enters Dakota from the north in September, and 
then mixes indiscriminately with the preceding species; bat the two 
will not be found together during the breeding-season. At our camp 606 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
on the Mouse River, both species became very abundant after the sec- 
ond week in September, and so continued to be at the time of our de- 
parture, early in October. They associated together so intimately that 
a discharge into a flock of Blackbirds often brought down individuals 
of both species. Their habits are exactly the same, but the two species 
may be distinguished with little ditiiculty. 
The foregoing tabular “List of specimens” includes, among those 
taken in September and October, several specimens of this species. 
The entry made iu my register at the time did not discriminate between 
them, so that the numbers cannot be separated without handling the 
specimens, which are not conveniently accessible at time of writing. 
QUISCALUS PURPUREUS iENEUS, Ridg. 
Bronzed Purple Grackle. 
Abundant at Pembina, where it was breeding in June in the hollows 
of trees. Occurred sparingly aloug the Mouse River in the fall, and 
daring the last season traced westward to the Rocky Mountains. The 
specimens show the bronzy general coloration defined against the steel- 
blue head and neck, supposed to afford ground for the recognition of 
variety ceneus. 
List of spe/nmevs. 
Coll. No. 
£ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent 
hie 
p 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2835 
12.25 
2911 
$ 
June 7' 1873 
2915 
12. 00 
16. 50 
2916 
3044 
June 18,1873 
3051 
~ef 
June 19| 1873 
....do 
3054 
d 
3112 
June 22,1873 
3869 
rr 
Oct. 3; 1873 
12. 40 
18.00 
5.65 
Skin. 
4101 
cf 
Jnne 30,1874 
River, Mont. 
4626 
Aug. 28,1874 
latitude 49°. 
CORVUS AMERICANUS, Aud. 
Common Crow. 
According to my observation, Crows are not very common in the 
region under consideration, though I saw a good many along the Mouse 
River. The species occurs, however, along the whole of the Missouri 
River. A nest containing five eggs, with the female parent, was se- 
cured on the Quaking Ash River, June 26, 1874. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
607 
List of specimens, 
Coll. No. 
A 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
i Extent. 
| Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
40-J6 
9 
Quaking Ash River, 
Mont. 
June 26,1874 
Elliott Coues. 
Skin, nest, 5 eggs. 
CORVUS CORAX, Linn. 
Raven. 
Occasionally observed, but no specimens were secured. 
PICA MELANOLEUCA HUDSONICA, {Sab.) Coues. 
American Magpie. 
No Magpies were seen in the Red River region, where, if occurring at 
all, I doubt their presence as far east as the river itself. During the 
second season, however, they were very frequently noticed at various 
points on the Upper Missouri and Milk Rivers, and thence to the Rocky 
Mountains. On the 1st of July, newly fledged birds were taken near the 
mouth of Milk River, and at the Sweetgrass Hills, during the first week 
in August, imperfectly plumaged individuals, a little over a foot long, 
were noticed. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
H 
© 
rJl 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4123 
July 1,1874 
Elliott Coues 
Skin. 
Kiver, Mont. 
4124 
4316 
... 
Sweetgrass Hills, 
Aug. 6,1874 
J. H. Batty .. 
14.50 
23.50 
7. 40 
...do. 
Mont. 
4317 
4318 
4624 
Kocky Mountains, 
latitude 49°. 
Aug. 28,1874 
Elliott Coues. 
CYANURUS CRISTATUS, {Linn.) Sw. 
Blue Jay. 
Not seen west of Pembina, where it was very abundant. 
Coll. No. 
* 
CO 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
© 
ts 
w 
Wing. 
Nature of specim en, 
and remarks. 
2787 
2788 
2789 
9 
Juno 2,1873 
Elliott Coues 
Skin. 
List of specimen8. 608 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
PERISOREUS CANADENSIS CAPITALIS, Bd. 
Rocky Mountain Jay. 
Only seen in the Rocky Mountains at latitude 49°, where, however, it 
was common and doubtless bred. The specimens secured in this locality 
show the restricted dark areas of the head, upon which the variety capi- 
tals is based. 
There is no doubt, however, that the true P. canadensis occurs in suit- 
able localities in other parts of the region surveyed, since it has been 
ascertained by Mr. T. M. Trippe to breed in the tamarack swamps of 
Minnesota. 
List of specimens. 
© 
<3 
£ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
! Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4607 
cf 
Rocky Mountains, 
latitude 49°. 
Aug. 25,1874 
Elliott Couee 
12.00 
17.00 
5.80 
Skin. 
4608 
11. 85 
17. 00 
5. 90 
4609 
$ 
do 
do 
do 
11.60 
17.00 
5.85 
.. .do. 
TYRANNUS CAROLINENSIS. {(ha.) Temm. 
Kingbird. 
Extremely numerous at Pembina, where many nests were taken alter 
the middle of June, and traced westward as far as the Survey progressed 
that year. One of the nests (No. 30G2) was placed on a rail fence, in 
the crotch formed by a post. In the Missouri region, it was equally 
abundant from Fort Buford to near the headwaters of the Milk River. 
Many nests containing two to four eggs were taken the latter part of 
June and early in July. One of these was particularly interesting, show- 
ing that the Summer Warbler is not the only species that gets rid of 
the obnoxious eggs of the Cowbird by building a second story to the 
nest, and thus leaving the alien egg to addle in the basement below. A 
nest taken near Frenchman’s River, containing two eggs, seemed to be 
a curiously built affair, and ou examining it closely I found the wrong 
egg embedded in its substance below the others (No. 4185). The King- 
bird is not so much attached to woodland as has been supposed. I saw 
great numbers whilst travelling by rail, on the prairies of Minnesota and 
Dakota, where it seemed to be as much at home as anywhere. All 
things considered, it may be rated as one of the most abundant and 
generally diffused species of the whole region under consideration. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
609 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
© 
Tfl 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
do 
Natnreof specimen, 
and remarks. 
2799 
$ 
June 2,1873 
J une 4,1873 
2831 
rf 
do 
8. 90 
16. 50 
j 283*2 
9 
8; 75 
16. 00 
...do. 
2977 
June 14,1873 
June 19,1873 
June 21,1873 
....do 
8.00 
14. 00 
3062 
...do 
Nest with 4 eggs. 
Nest with 3 eggs. 
1 3081 
do 
3082 
3C83 
3105 
June 22,1873 
3119 
Nest with 4 eggs. 
3120 
....do 
3122 
Nest with 3 eggs. 
Nest with 4 eggs. 
Two eggs. 
Nest with 2 eggs. 
Nest with 4 eggs. 
Skin ; nest with 3 
eggs- 
Nest with 4 eggs. 
Nest with 2 eggs, 
and 1 of Molo- 
thnui excluded 
in the basement. 
1 3125 
1 3127 
June 23,1873 
June 26,1873 
June 28,1873 
June 22,1874 
June 28,1874 
July 9,1874 
| 3174 
3211 
' 4020 
Big Muddy River, 
Mont. 
Porcupine River, 
Mont. 
4080 
4185 
River, Mont. 
TYRANNUS VERTICALIS, Say. 
Arkansas Flycatcher. 
Iii the Red River region, T. carolinensis alone represents the genus; 
but throughout the Upper Missouri and Milk River country the two are 
found together, and it is hard to say which is the most numerous. 
They have much the same general habits, and often associate intimately 
together j indeed, I have known one tree to contain nests of both 
species. The cries of the verticalis are louder and harsher, with less of 
a sibilant quality, than those of the Kingbird ; but there is little else 
to note as different. The nests of the verticalis are bulky and con- 
spicuous, all the more easily found because the bird has a way of leav- 
ing the general woods of the river-bottom to go up the ravines that 
make down from the hillsides, and there nest on some isolated tree, 
miles away, perhaps, from any other landmark. Taking nests of both 
species at the same time, I found that those of verticalis were generally 
distinguishable by their larger size and softer make, with less fibrous 
and more fluffy material; but the eggs, if mixed together, could not 
be separated with any certainty. The sets of eggs taken during the 
latter part of June consisted of from three to six. Eggs were found as 
late as the second week in July. The nests were placed in trees at a 
height of from five or six to forty or fifty feet, generally in the crotch of a 
horizontal limb, at some distance from the main trunk; but in one case a 
nest was placed in the crotch which the first large bough made with the 
trunk. In one case, a pair of the Flycatchers built in the same tree that 
contained the nest of Swainson’s Buzzard, and both kinds of birds were 
incubating at peace with each other, if not with all the world, when I 610 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
came along to disturb them. Iu another one, they nested with a pair 
of Kingbirds. The birds display admirable courage in defense of their 
homes, loosing iu their anxiety all sense of danger to themselves. 
List of specimens. 
© 
i 
'o 
j « 
* 
cc 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4011 
Big Mncldy River, 
Mont. 
1 4012 
eggs. 
Skin; nest with 5 
eggs. 
Skin, with set of 
eggs. 
' 4017 
d 
June 22,1874 
' 4018 
$ 
4010 
9 
4081 
V 
rT 
Porcupine Creek, 
Mont. 
June 28,1874 
Skin; nest with 5 
eggs. 
! 4082 
; 4083 
9 
• 4084 
9 
4102 
cf 
June 30,1874 
4103 
River, Mont. 
SAYORNIS SAYUS, (Bp.) Bd. 
Say's Flycatcher. 
Not observed in the Red River region. First noticed at Fort Buford, 
where it used to perch upon the roofs of the houses, like the Pewit of 
the East, and traced thence westward to the Rocky Mountains. It 
occurred at intervals without being particularly numerous at any point. 
Its nidification was not observed. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. j 
•xas 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
P 
0> 
M 
w 
bn 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4322 
? 
Sweetgrass Hills, 
Aug. 6,1874 
J. H. Batty... 
7.50 
12.10 
3.90 
Skin. 
Moot. 
4371 
Aug. 0,1874 
7. 75 
13. 40 
4. 40 
4456 
Headwaters Milk 
Aug. 15,1874 
Elliott Coue8. 
7.75 
12.50 
4. 10 
— do. 
River, Mont. 
4(599 
Sept 8,1874 
Mont 
CONTOPUS VIRENS, (Linn.) Cab. 
Wood Pewee. 
Only noticed at Pembina, which is probably at or near its north- 
western limit. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 1 
® 
in 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
bio 
.5 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2891 
cf 
Pembina, Dak 
June 6,1873 
Elliott Conee 
6.25 
10.25 
Skin. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
611 
EMPIDONAX TRAILLI, (Aud.) Bd. 
Tiiaill’s Flycatcher. 
I found this species common at Pembina, like the minimis, during 
the first week in June, but did not observe it later than the 9th of 
that month. They appeared to pass on northward, yet I can hardly 
suppose that the species never breeds here, which is fully as far north 
as the localities in which it nests in the Eastern States. However, if it 
does so, I overlooked the fact. 
© 
; ft 
'o 
O 
V. 
© 
rJl 
Locality. 
« 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 1 
Extent. , 
% 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2782 
2816 
2817 
2818 
■2821 
? 
d 
d 
Pembina, Dak 
do 
Jane 2,1873 
June 3,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
do 
5.50 
6. 00 
6. 25 
6.00 
5.50 
8.75 
9.10 
9.60 
9.00 
8. 40 
Skin. 
2 
do 
June 9,1873 
. ...do 
do. 
List of specimens. 
EM PI DONA X MINIMUS, Bd. 
Least Flycatcher. 
Very abuudaut at Pembina, and found also on Turtle Mountain, be- 
yond which not seen. I found it common on my arrival, the 1st of June, 
and during that month secured a large series of specimens, including 
many nests and eggs, the latter not until the middle of the month. The 
usual site of the nest is the upright crotch formed by three or more di- 
verging twigs of some sapling or stout bush, usually 10 or 12 feet from 
the ground. One nest that I took I could reach standing on the ground, 
but another was in a slender elm-tree some 40 feet high, on a swaying 
bough, but in a crotch of upright twigs as usual. The female, during 
incubation, is as close a setter as some of the ground Sparrows. In one 
instance I came within arm’s length before the bird flew, and then she 
merely fluttered out of reach and stood uttering a disconsolate note. 
The nest is usually let deeply down into the crotch, and bears the im- 
press of the twigs. It is composed of intertwined strips of fine fibrous 
inner bark and decomposed weedy substances, matted with a great 
quantity of soft plant-down, and finished with a liuing of a few horse- 
hairs or flue grasses, making a firm, warm fabric, with a smooth, even 
brim, about inches across outside and less than 2 inches deep; gen- 
eral shape tends somewhat to be conical, but much depends upon the 
site of the nest. The walls are thin, sometimes barely coherent along 
the track of the supporting twigs. The cavity is large for the size of 
the nest, scarcely or not contracted at the top, and about as wide as 
deep. In six instances I found not more than 4 eggs, which seems to 
be the full complement. These are pure white in color, of ordinary 
shape (but variable in this respect), and measure about two-thirds of an 
inch in length by one half in breadth. Extremes of length noted were 
0.59 and 0.68; the diameter is less variable. 612 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
List of specimens. 
6 
A 
O 
X 
© 
OB 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen 
and remarks. 
2780 
2781 
2815 
2854 
2855 
2887 
2888 
2922 
2938 
2939 
2956 
2957 
2960 
2961 
2980 
3086 
3123 
3124 
3133 
3415 
cT 
d 
d 
d 
June 2,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
....do 
5.25 
5. 40 
5.50 
5.25 
5.00 
5.00 
5.20 
4.80 
4. 90 
4. 90 
5. 50 
5.50 
8.25 
8.30 
8.25 
8.25 
7.90 
7. 70 
8.20 
7. 40 
7.80 
7.80 
7.60 
7.60 
Skin. 
June 3, 1973 
June 5,1873 
9 
d 
9 
9 
9 
d 
d 
June 6,1873 
June 9,1873 
June 11,1873 
do 
....do 
June 12,1873 
do. 
June 13,1873 
Nest with 4 eggs. 
Nest with 2 eggs. 
Skin. 
Nest with 4 eggs, 
and 1 of Molo- 
thrus. 
Nest with 3 eggs. 
Nest with 4 eggs. 
9 
June 14,1873 
June 21,1873 
June 22,1873 
4.80 
7.40. 
June 24,1873 
Aug. 8, 1873 
.... 
Turtle Monntain, Dak 
do 
5. 40 
8. 40 
Skin. 
1 
EMPIDONAX HAMMONDI, Bd. 
Hammond’s Flycatcher. 
This species, which appears to be the Western representative of mini- 
mus, was only found in the Eocky Mountains, where a single specimen 
was secured in August. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
m 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
£ 
blo 
a 
■ 
Extent. 
.a 
> 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4537 
.... 
Rocky Mountains, 
latitude 49°. 
Aug. 20,1874 
Elliott Coues 
EMPIDONAX OBSCURUS, Bd. 
Weight’s Flycatcher 
Instead of trailli var. pusillns, which I expected to find in the Rocky 
Mountains, this species was taken in that locality. The occurrence so 
far beyond its hitherto-known range is particularly interesting. Three 
specimens were taken during the latter part of August. The bird 
doubtless breeds in this region, which is the northernmost point by far 
at which it has been observed. 
Coll. No. 
Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Natnreof specimen, 
and remarks. 
4520 
4521 
4539 
.... 
Eocky Mountains, 
latitude 40°. 
Aug. 19,1874 
Elliott Coues 
Skin. 
Aug. 20,1874 
List of specimens. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
613 
ANTROSTOMUS VOCIFERUS, (Wils.) Bp. 
Whippoorwill. 
Although I took no specimens of this bird, its unmistakable notes 
were heard every night in June at Pembina, assuring me of its presence 
in numbers in the heavy timber of the river-botton. This locality is very 
near its northern limit, and it probably is not found any distance west 
of the Red River. 
CHORDILES VIRGINIANUS, {Brigs.) Bp. 
Night-hawk; Bull-bat. 
Occurs in summer throughout the whole region surveyed, and is in 
most places very common. The birds of the arid Missouri region are 
referable, I suppose, to var. henryi. Eggs were found at Pembina 
June 13, and at the mouth of Milk River on the 1st of July; in both 
instances two in number, laid on the bare ground. So late as the 23d of 
July, newly hatched young were found at one of our camps on Turtle 
Mountain. Notwithstanding that they lay in the midst of a populous 
camp, where the men and animals constantly passed the spot, the female 
continued to brood them with courage and patience, and on too near 
approach would feigu a broken wing, and tumble about in a manner that 
would have seemed ridiculous could her tender object have been forgot- 
ten. The male bird made a great ado, dashing down from overhead, 
but apparently without any clear idea of what was expected of him, or 
how to do it. Upon one of my visits to the spot I found that the young 
had been transported since I had been there last, though only to a dis- 
tance of two or three yards. 
© 
*3 
O 
H 
0- 
IC 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
b£ 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2062 
2082 
2996 
3209 
3300 
3301 
3351 
3477 
3719 
4117 
4264 
4265 
4301 
9 
d 
d 
.... 
Juno 13,1873 
June 14,1873 
June 16,1873 
July 16,1873 
Elliott Coues 
9.25 
9.00 
9.75 
23.00 
22. 00 
23.50 
Skin and 2 eggs. 
Skin. 
.. .do. 
8.10 
50 miles west of Pem- 
bina Mts. 
Turtle Mt., Dak 
Mouse River, Dak... 
July 23,1873 
Aug. 10,1873 
Sept. 3,1873 
July 1,1874 
July 24,1874 
Skin (with nest- 
ling). 
Skin. 
9 
Near mouth of Milk 
River, Mont. 
Crossing of Milk 
River, Mont. 
Two eggs. 
Skin. 
d 
9 
do 
July 25,1874 
List of specimens. 614 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
CHJETURA PEL AGIO A, (Linn.) lid. 
Chimney Swift. 
Common at Pembina, and traced thence westward only to the Mouse 
River. Not seen in the Missouri region nor in the Rocky Mountains. I 
did not notice where the birds were breeding; but from the circumstance 
of seeing them habitually flying about over the timber of the river bot- 
tom, instead of at the fort, I judge that they here still retained their 
primitive custom of nesting in hollow trees. 
List of specimens. 
6 
o 
O 
H 
£ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
4 
a 
1 
W 
u 
a 
k 
Nature of specimen 
ami remarks.. 
2800 
3076 
3136 
3589 
cf 
Pembina, Dak 
June 2,1873 
June 20,1873 
June 24,1873 
Aug. 27,1873 
Elliott Coues 
Skin. 
.. do. 
.... 
Mouse Kiver, Dak .. 
.. do 
TROCHILUS COLUBRIS, Linn. 
Ruby-throated Hummingbird. 
Quite common at Pembina, in the open flowery glades of the woods 
along the river. Not seen west of this point. 
Li3t of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
H 
© 
'£) 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
tb 
a 
£ 
Natnre of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2850 
d 
Pembina, Dak 
Jane 5,1873 
Elliott Cones. 
Skin. 
SELASPHORUS RUFUS, (Gm.) Sic, 
Rufous Hummingbird. 
Found in considerable numbers at our camp on Chief Mountain Lake, 
in open flowery spots amongst the windfalls, at an altitude of about 4,200 
feet. 
Zisi o/ specimens. 
Coll. No. 
* 
0* 
m 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of epeei men, 
and remarks. 
45-22 
4523 
4535 
4536 
.... 
Rocky Mountains, 
latitude 49°. 
Aug. 19,1874 
Elliott Coues. 
Skin. 
Aug. 20,1874 
....do COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA 
615 
CERYLE ALCYON, Boie. 
Belted Kingfisher. 
Of general distribution along the waters of this region as elsewhere 
in North America. I saw it on the Red, Mouse, Milk, and Missouri 
Rivers, and some of the affluents of the two last, as well as on the 
headwaters of the Saskatchewan. 
List of specimens, 
6 
fc 
o 
O 
M 
w 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
bio 
a 
P 
Mature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2917 
? 
Pembina, Dak 
•June 9,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
Skin. 
COCCYGUS ERYTHROPHTHALMUS, ( Wils.) Bp. 
Black-billed Cuckoo. 
Somewhat to my surprise, this Cuckoo was ascertained to breed in the 
Pembina Mountains. I had not previously observed it along the lied 
River, nor did 1 meet with G. americanus anywhere during the survey. 
The nest was discovered July 12, at which date it contained a single 
young one, scarcely able to fly, the older ones of the same brood having 
doubtless already made off. The nest was iu what I suppose to be an 
unusual situation, namely, an oak scrub less than two feet from the 
ground, in a dense thicket on the mountain-side. A large basement of 
loosely interlaced twigs rested iu a crotch of the bush, supporting the 
nest proper, which consisted of a flat matting of withered leaves and 
catkins of the poplar. After a chase and a headlong plunge into an 
uncomfortable brier-patch, I managed to catch the little fellow, who, 
encouraged by the constant exhortations of his anxious mother, was 
scrambling off in a very creditable style for one so young. 
List of specimens. 
6 
fc 
a 
o 
O 
X 
m 
m 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
. 
fee 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen 
and remarks. 
3240 
.... 
Pembina Mountains, 
Dak. 
July 12,1873 
Elliott Coues 
Skin (nestling). 
PICUS VILLOSUS, Linn, 
Hairy Woodpecker. 
Observed in heavy timber on Turtle Mountain. As a species of gen- 
eral dispersion in Eastern North America, it doubtless occurs in other 
wooded portions of the lied and Missouri region. Exactly at what point 
it is modified into var. harrisi may not have been ascertained; but the 616 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
change probably does not take place much, if any, east of the Rocky 
Mountains. Pure villosus occurs on the Missouri at Fort Randal! 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
■ ' Locality. 
* 1 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
& 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3345 6 it 
1 Turtle Mountain, 
| Dak. 
July 20,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
Skin. 
riCUS YILLOSUS HARRISI, (Aud.) Coues. 
Harris’s Woodpecker. 
Found only in the Rocky Mountains 
List of specimens, 
Coll. No. 
•x»S 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
ti 
c 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4597 
ct 
Rocky Mountains, 
latitude 49°. 
Aug. 24,1874 
Elliott Coues 
Skin. 
SPHYRAPICUS VARIUS, {Linn.) Bd, 
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker. 
Plentiful at Pembina, where it was breeding with the Redheads in 
June, aud again seen on the Mouse River; not observed further west, 
nor anywhere in the Missouri country,—though we are not to infer that 
it is actually absent from that region. In these high latitudes (and 
further north—for it goes to 61° at least), it is probably only a summer 
resident. It seems to be more decidedly migratory than most of our 
Woodpeckers, and penetrates in winter to Central America. This may 
be partly, at least, due to the peculiarity of its food, for it feeds largely 
upon living cambium, and may not be able to secure this to its taste 
when the sap ceases to flow. 
© 
'© 
O 
\A 
<£> 
Ou 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Natureof specimen, 
and remarks. 
2849 
2892 
2946 
3171 
3235 
3757 
d 
9 
d 
d 
9 
Pembina, Dak 
.Tune 5,1873 
June 6,1873 
June 11, 1873 
June 25,1873 
July 8, 1873 
Sept. 16,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
Skin. 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
do 
List of specimens. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
617 
MELANERPES ERYTUEOCEPHALUS, (Linn.) Sic. 
Red headed Woodpecker. 
Common along the Red and Upper Missouri Rivers. It probably 
extends, in suitable places, to the Rocky Mountains, but was not noticed 
after leaving the vicinity of the Missouri, as there is not wood enough 
to attract it along the affluents of the Milk River on the parallel of 49°. 
Coll. No. 
M 
© 
m 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
bC 
q 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2918 
4085 
? 
Pembina, Dak 
Porcupine Creek, 
Mont. 
June 9,1873 
June 28, 1874 
Elliott Coues 
do 
Skin. 
List of specimens. 
ASYNDESMUS TORQUATUS, (Wils.) Cones. 
Lewis’s Woodpecker. 
While we were encamped on one of the headwaters of the Saskatche- 
wan, at the eastern base of the mountains, a Lewis’s Woodpecker flew 
overhead, and was distinctly recognized both by Mr. Batty and myself. 
At our permanent camp on Chief Mountain Lake, we confidently ex- 
pected to see the species again aud secure specimens, but in this we 
were disappointed, for not a single one was encountered in our excursions 
in the vicinity. 
COLAPTES AURATUS, (Linn.) Sic. 
Golden-winged Woodpecker. 
Flickers were common along the Red aud Mouse Rivers, and were 
also observed at Pembina and Turtle Mountains, which is equivalent to 
saying that the species inhabits the wooded portions of the Red River 
watershed. All the specimens secured were pure auratus, without a 
touch of mexicanus, and the mixed race probably does not occur in this 
region. This is another evidence of the distinction, which I continually 
insist upon, between the watersheds of the two great rivers. 
List of specimens. 
"A 
w> 
* 
<Z> 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
a 
1© 
H 
ti 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2896 
June 6,1873 
2912 
cf 
June 7,1873 
3050 
rT 
June 19,1873 
33:i7 
Tnrtle Moan tain, 
July 20,1873 
Dak. 
3553 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Aug. 22, 1873 
do 
do. 
3720 
9 
Sept. 3,1873 618 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
COLAPTES “ HYBRIDUS” of Baird. 
All the Colaptes of the Upper Missouri, Yellowstone, and Milk River 
region appear to be of the hybrid race, in which there is every degree 
of departure from the characters of typical auratus. The change be- 
gins somewhere on the Middle Missouri, as low down, I think, as Fort 
Randall, and certainly as old Fort Pierre. It is a point of interest that 
this mongrel style overruns into the Saskatchewan region; for, of two 
specimens secured at the eastern base of the mountains, one had the 
red qu.lls and ash throat of mexicanus, and the cheek-patch mixed with 
red, while the other was nearly pure auratus. 
List of specimens, 
5§ 
d 
o 
o 
£ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Natureof specimen, 
and remarks. 
4507 
4590 
d 
9 
Rocky Mountains, 
latitude 49°. 
Aug. 17,1674 
Aug. 23,1874 
Elliott Cones. 
....ilo 
Skin: red quills 
and ash throat 
o f mexicanus ; 
occipital cres- 
cent and brown 
cap of auratus; 
cheek - patch 
mixed red and 
black. 
Nearly pure aura- 
tun. 
BUBO VIRGINIANUS, (Gm.) Bp. 
Great Horned Owl. 
A pair of these Owls were observed at Pembina early in June, and 
two unfledged young ones, evidently belonging to them, were found on 
a fallen log in the timber-belt along the river. The nest was not dis- 
covered, though supposed to be in the hollow of a blasted tree that stood 
near. The old birds flew about apparently not in the least incommoded 
by the daylight, but were too wary to be approached; and though I 
set a steel trap for them, upon the log where the young had been, they 
did not put their foot in it. The two young birds, one of which was 
much larger than the other, and therefore supposed to be a female, were 
brought alive to camp, and kept during the whole season. They made 
more agreeable and amusing pets than birds of prey generally prove 
to be, and the fun we had out of them repaid the trouble of carrying 
them about. They became perfectly tame, would take food out of my 
hands, or even alight on my shoulder; and, after a while, when they were 
full grown and in good plumage, I used to release them and allow them 
to forage for themselves during the night. They generally returned of 
their own accord, but sometimes I had to send one of my men in search 
of them ; in fact, the care of these Owls was the chief duty of a certain 
member of the party during September. They began to hoot when COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
619 
about four months old. One of them died soon after, from some unex- 
plained cause; the other survived all the vicissitudes of camp-life, in- 
cluding a pistol-shot from a man who mistook the bird for a wild one, 
and was finally, after travelling seven or eight hundred miles, safely 
deposited in an aviary in Saint Paul. 
SPEOTYTO CUNICULARIA HYPOG.EA, (Bp.) Cones. 
Burrowing Owl. 
First observed at a point on the Boundary Line a little east of French- 
man’s River, not far from the mouth of Milk River, where a few individ- 
uals inhabited a small settlement of Prairie Dogs (Cynomys ludovicianns). 
This seems to be about the northern limit of the species, and it is 
nowhere so abundant in this region as in many places further south. It 
was met with a second time a little west of Frenchman’s River, and for 
the third time, in somewhat greater numbers, on a piece of prairie near 
Sweetgrass Hills. There were no Prairie Dogs here or at the locality 
last mentioned, so far as I know, but the ground was riddled with the 
burrows of the Tawny Marmots(Spermophilus richardsoni), which seemed 
to suit the Owls just as well. 
Several other species of this family certainly inhabit the region sur- 
veyed ; but the two foregoing were the only ones actually observed. 
The circumstances of a Survey like the present are not the most favor- 
able for observation of these nocturnal birds; for, when night comes, 
a man is generally too tired to care about anything but sleep, especially 
w hen the prospect is breakfast by candle-light and “ pull out” at day- 
light to argue again with mules and miles. 
List of specimens. 
6 
ft 
o 
Q 
M 
o 
1/2 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
fcJC 
a 
* 
Natureof specimen, 
and remarks. 
4187 
4314 
4315 
.... 
Near Frenchman’s 
River. 
Sweetgrass Hills, 
Mont. 
July 9,1874 
Aug. 3,1874 
Skin. 
CIRCUS CYANEUS IIUDSONICUS, (Linn.) Schl. 
Marsh Harrier 
Common throughout the region surveyed, and in the vicinity of the 
streams and wooded parts of the country the most abundant of all the 
Hawks, not even excepting Swainson’s Buzzard. A nest was discovered 
at Pembina, June 3, on the ground in the midst of the wild-rose patch 
that generally reaches out from the timber to the prairie. The nest was 
about a foot in diameter and a fourth as much in depth, with very slight 620 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
depression. It was composed of dried grasses, rather neatly disposed, 
resting upon a bed of rose-twigs. It contained five eggs, slightly incu- 
bated. These were of nearly equal size at both ends, and measured 
respectively 1.87 by 1.45,1.86 by 1.45, 1.82 by 1.44, 1.80 by 1.45, 1.80 by 
1.42. The color was dull white, with a faint greenish tinge, but with- 
out distinct markings of any kind, though much soiled mechanically. 
On approaching the spot where I had supposed, from observing the 
birds two or three times, that the nest was concealed, the female did not 
fly up till I was within a few feet of her, when she made off with all 
speed and great outcry, calling her mate. He soon appeared, aud 
the pair circled for some time overhead, the male silent and at a very 
reasonable distance ; the female, more impetuous or more anxious, came 
nearer, and constantly uttering a harsh note. At Turtle Mountain, in 
July, nearly a whole family, the young of which were newly on wing, 
was shot, the prudent male alone escaping. While encamped on Mouse 
River I had frequent opportunities of observing the birds fishing for 
frogs in the stagnant pools near the main stream. 
List of speciviens. 
6 
'A 
o 
O 
H 
rJl 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
bD 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2801 
2047 
3.175 
3376 
3377 
8378 
3482 
3532 
3536 
3538 
3737 
3786 
3787 
3870 
4338 
4389 
4636 
4637 
9 
9 
9 
d 
9 
d 
d 
d 
9 
d 
d 
d 
9 
June 3,1873 
Jnne 11,1873 
J uly 28,1873 
Elliott Coues 
Nest with 5 eggs. 
Skin, wit h a tern u ui. 
Skin. 
Turtle Mt., Dak 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Aug. 10,1873 
Aug. 16,1873 
Aug. 17, 1873 
Aug. 19, 1873 
Sept. 8,1873 
Sept. 18,1873 
Long Coteau River, 
Dak. 
Mouse River, Dak.. 
....do 
17.75 
18. 75 
20.50 
18. 50 
40.75 
41.50 
46.50 
40.50 
13.25 
13.50 
14.60 
13. 35 
do. 
do. 
do. 
....do. 
... do 
West of Sweetgraas 
Hills, Mont. 
Oct. 3,1873 
Aug. 8, 1874 
Aug. 10,1874 
Aug. 30,1874 
....do 
Rocky Mts., lat. 49°. 
..do 
ACCIPITER FUSCUS, (Gm.) Gray. 
Sharp-shinned Hawk. 
This dashiug and elegant little Hawk is probably less rare in the 
region surveyed than my observations would indicate. I only recog- 
nized it on one occasion, when a specimen was procured, as below indi- 
cated. The second North American species of this genus, A. cooperi, 
undoubtedly occurs in this country, though it was not noticed. 
While at Pembina I was assured by Colonel Wheaton, U. S. A., of 
the occasional occurrence in that vicinity of the Swallow-tailed Kite, 
Elanoides forficatus. This officer seemed to know the bird perfectly COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
621 
well, and it is not a species about which there could easily be any mis- 
take. Its presence here was not entirely unexpected, since it had been 
already found by Mr. Trippe in Minnesota at lat. 47°, and a degree or 
two of latitude is of course nothing to a bird of such powers of flight as 
this Kite possesses. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
da 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Natureof specimen, 
and remarks. 
3718 
? 
Mouse River, Dak.. 
Sept. 3,1873 
Elliott Coues 
12. 50 
25.50 
8.00 
Skin. 
FALCO MEXICANUS POLYAGRUS, (Cass.) Cones. 
American Lanier Falcon. 
At one of the astronomical stations on the west branch of the “Two 
Forks” of Milk River, no less than four species of large Hawks had their 
nests within sight of each other and only a few hundred yards apart. 
These were Swainson’s and the Ferrugineous Buzzards, the Common 
Falcon, and the present species. Speaking of some of these Hawks in 
an article I recently contributed to the “American Naturalist” (vol. viii, 
1874, 596,) I incorrectly omitted the Lanier, and all of the remarks re- 
lating to one of the nests of the supposed F. communis (the first one 
there spoken of) apply to the present species, though my account of the 
other nest, found a few miles away, is entirely accurate aud pertinent. 
I am not aware that the Lanier had before been found so far north- 
west as this, nor had we any reliable accounts of its nidification. In 
the “Birds of the Northwest” 1 gave a description of the eggs from a 
set procured by Hr. F. Y. Hayden in the Wind River Mountains. The 
nest to which I now refer was discovered July 18, 1874, on the perpen- 
dicular face of the “cut-bank” of the stream. It contained three 
young, scarcely able to fly. Two of these were shot on the wing close 
by the nest; the third was subsequently brought to me alive by a 
soldier. The mother was shot, and, as well as I could determine, fell in 
a recess of the ground by the nest, in such a position that it could not be 
recovered. The male was not seen, or at any rate not recognized. This 
nest was built behind an upright column of earth, partly washed away 
from the main embankment, in such position that no full view of it 
could be obtained from any accessible standpoint. But it was cer- 
tainly placed directly upon the ground, in a little water-worn hollow of 
the bank, behind the projecting mound, so that it was almost like a 
burrow. The spot being inaccessible from below, I had a man lowered 
by a rope from the top of the bank, but during the descent so much 
loosened earth fell into the place that the nest was completely hidden, 
so that its structure was left undetermined, if, indeed, there was any 
special structure. 622 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
This maimer of nesting on the ground, in the depressions or on the. 
projections of the cut-banks, seems to be readily adopted in this treeless 
region by all the Hawks, which, under other circumstances, regularly 
build in trees. 
I should not omit to add that a colony of Cliff Swallows had affixed 
their nests of mud to the same embankment, a few yards from the site 
of the Falcon’s eyrie, and appeared to be undisturbed in the possession 
of their homes. 
List of specimens 
Coll. No. 
M 
9 
cc 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
bi; 
a 
£ 
Natureof apeeimeD, 
and remarks. 
4239 
July 18,1874 
.River, Mont. 
4240 
do 
— do 
FALCO COMMUNIS, Gm. 
Peregrine Falcon ; Duck Hawk. 
As already- stated in the foregoing account of F. polyagrns, the Pere- 
grine was nesting in the same place and under precisely similar condi- 
tions. Another pair had a nest about ten miles away on the same 
stream. Here the earth bank was perpendicular, and lying flat upon 
the brink I could look directly into the nest, which rested on a slight 
shelf about 12 feet below. It contained three young, not yet fledged, 
Jnly 19. On approaching the spot, while yet several hundred yards 
away, I observed both parents circling high in the air, venting their 
displeasure at the prospective invasion in loud, harsh cries. On reach- 
ing the spot, I saw that the male thought it prudent to have business 
elsewhere, but the more couragous mother bird, desperate with fear 
and anger, made repeated dashes within a few feet of my head, till I 
judged it just as well to destroy her, as 1 had designs upon the young. 
She fell hurtling with a broken wing at the foot of the cliff, 30 or 40 
yards below. The eyrie was totally inaccessible from below, and, as I 
had no rope, it was equally so from above. I tried for a long time to 
lasso the young ones and draw them up with a piece of cord; but they 
had a way of freeing themselves just before the noose drew tight, and 
I was obliged to leave them. 
List o/ specimens. 
o 
ri 
o 
O 
O' 
ttJ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
u 
a 
£ 
Natureof specimen, 
and remarks. 
4232 
? 
Two Forks of Milk 
Kiver, Moot. 
July 17, 1874 
Elliott Coues 
Skin. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA 
623 
FALCO RICHARDSONI, Ridgw. 
Richardson’s Merlin. 
One specimen, the only individual of this species observed, was taken 
on the headwaters of the Mouse Eiver, September 8, 1873. I had no 
difficulty in approaching and shooting it, as it sat on the lower limb of 
a small tree. The stomach contained the remains of a Sparrow. 
Since the supposed similarity of the sexes of this bird proves not 
to hold good, one of the strongest points of distinction between it 
and F. columbarius disappears, and the probability is that it is not 
specifically separable from the latter. 
Lint of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
- 
xn 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
P 
© 
P 
1 
M 
w 
"Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3729 
9 
Headwaters Mouse 
River, Dak. 
Sept. 8,1873 
Elliott Couea. 
12.75 
26.75 
8.50 
Eyes dark brown; 
legs yellow; lores, 
eyelids, baso of 
upper and most 
of under man- 
dible yellowish- 
green ; cere more 
yellow; rest of 
bill and claws* 
blue-black. 
FALCO SPARVERIUS, Linn. 
Sparrow Hawk. 
Very abundant throughout the region surveyed. The specimens 
taken on Turtle Mountain, August 8, 1873, had at that date nearly as- 
sumed their first complete plumage; they were all members of the same 
family, and had not quite given up their companionship. 
List of specimens. 
6 
rA 
'o 
O 
fc 
W 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
u 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3049 
rT 
3-212 
June 28,1873 
.. do 
3224 
9 
3418 
Aug. 8| 1873 
3419 
3420 
rf 
Aug. 16,1873 
3537 
$ 
Aug. 17,1873 
cf 
Au<7. 24,1873 
10. 50 
22. 50 
3571 
? 
do 
.... do 
....do 
11.50 
24. 50 
do. 
3592 
¥ 
do 
Aug. 30,1873 
.. do 
10.50 
23.00 
7. 50 
do. 
3599 
w 
do 
.do .... 
do 
11.00 
23. 50 
7.50 
do. * ; • 
4086 
2 
June 28,1874 
Mont. 
4104 
rf 
June 30,1874 
River, Mont. 
4105 
$ 
4513 
Aug. 18,1874 
latitude 49°. 
4625 
.... 
— do 
Aug. 28,1874 
J. H. Batty... 624 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
BUTEO BOREALIS, (Gm.) Vieill. 
Red-tailed Buzzard; Hen Hawk. 
I frequently observed this Hawk in different portions of Iowa, Kansas, 
Minnesota, and Dakota ; but, in most portions of the last-named Terri- 
tory, it is not nearly so abundant as the next species (B. swainsoni). 
The only individual noticed during my connection with the Survey was 
shot on the Mouse River, where B. swainsoni was the prevailing form. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
1) 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
P 
-S 
R 
•w 
tdD 
.s 
K* 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3755 
Mouse River 
Sept. 14,1873 
Elliott Cones 
21. C5 
49.00 
14. 50 
BUTEO SWAINSONI, Bp. 
Swainson’s Buzzard. 
Very abundant in Northern Dakota and Montana, where, I may say, 
I saw it almost daily each season. None of the Hawk tribe, in fact, were 
more numerous, excepting the Harrier and Sparrow-hawk. In this 
part of the country, neither the Rough-legs nor the Red-tails are com- 
mon, and Swainson’s Buzzard chiefly represents the genus. The bird 
may consequently be studied satisfactorily, both with regard to its 
habits, and to those great changes of plumage which, before they were 
understood, were so perplexing, and caused several nominal species to 
be proposed. 
Swainson’s Buzzard may be found anywhere in the region indicated. 
When about to alight on the ground in open country, it generally takes 
advantage of some little knoll as an observatory whence to watch for 
the gophers. But it gives the preference to wooded regions, and is 
always most numerous in the vicinity of streams fringed with trees. The 
nest is usually placed in trees, sometimes in shrubbery, but when both 
these fail, is placed on the brink of a cut-bank, or on some shelf pro- 
jecting from its face, like those of most other Hawks under the same 
circumstances. These ground nests are apt to be less bulky and elab- 
orate than those constructed in trees; and there is always a wide lati- 
tude in this respect, according to the precisecharacter of the site selected. 
During the first season I was too late for eggs, when I first met with 
the birds, but discovered several nests in the timber along the Mouse 
River. The only one I found with anything in it contained two half- 
fledged young; it was very untidy with the scurfy exfoliation from the 
growing feathers of the youngsters, their excrement, and remains of their 
food in the shape of gophers. Previous to this time, in July, an un- 
fledged young was brought to me, and early in August I possessed a COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
625 
full-grown bird of the year. There is evidently then a wide extension 
of the breeding-season, unless two broods are reared, which seems not 
unlikely. 
During the season of 1874, I took plenty of eggs. Wherever there 
were trees, the birds preferred them. In the Milk Eiver country, they 
nested on the cut-banks. I never found more than two eggs in a nest, 
and supposed this to be the usual number. In one case of a single egg, 
supposed to be of this species, incubation was advanced. All these eggs, 
excepting an addled one found in a deserted nest the latter part of Au. 
gust, were taken between June 21st and July 17th. The eggs depart 
from the rule in this genus, in being nearly colorless and unmarked, 
resembling hens’ eggs quite closely, both in size and shape. Most of 
the specimens taken were uniform dull white, with no more evident 
markings than such obsolete grayish spots as frequently appear on Marsh 
Harriers’ eggs. A few were marked with obvious dirty-brownish 
scratchy spots at the smaller end; none were marked all over, nor 
strongly blotched anywhere. 
The food of these Hawks seems to consist principally of gophers (Sper- 
mophili), which they pounce upon when caught away from home, or lie 
in wait for at the mouths of the burrows, ready to “yank’’them out 
with a quick thrust of the talons when they show their noses. But 
they also feed largely upon grasshoppers, with which their crops are 
sometimes found crammed. They cut a very ridiculous figure when 
skipping about over the prairie after these lively insects. A more 
extended notice of the habits of the species, with descriptions of its 
various plumages, may be found in my paper in the “American Natu- 
ralist” for May, 1874 (pp. 282-287), and in the article in the “Birds 
of the Northwest ”, 
List of specimens, 
Coll. No. 
Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
rd 
ti 
a 
Extent. 
tob 
! 
Nature of specimen 
and remarks. 
3289 
July 15,1873 
Two eggs (?). 
Pembina Mts. 
3355 
July 23,1873 
Dak. 
3526 
9 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Aug. 15,1873 
... do 
22. 00 
54.00 
17.00 
Skin: eve brown ; 
cere and feet yel- 
low; bill and claws 
bluish-black. 
3527 
3528 
> of 3526. 
3572 
<j> 
do 
Aug. 24.1873 
do 
19. 00 
49. 00 
13.25 
Skin. 
3587 
do 
Aug. 27,1873 
do 
21.00 
53. 00 
15. 75 
do. 
3590 
.... 
do 
Aug. 29,1873 
do 
20. 50 
45.50 
15. 60 
do. 
3591 
Aug. 30,1873 
21. 50 
51. 75 
3717 
9 
do 
Sept. 1873 
— do 
20. 50 
51. 00 
i.5.25 
do. 
3728 
d 
Long Coteau River, 
Sept. 8,1873 
do 
19.25 
49. 00 
15.25 
do. 
3739 
Sept, 9 1873 
20. 50 
50. 00 
15. 25 
3740 
19.50 
49. 00 
15. 00 
4013 
Big Muddy River, 
June 21,1874 
Two eggs (tree). 
Mont. 
4036 
Quaking Ash River, 
June 26,1874 
Mont. 
4116 
June 30,1874 
One egg (?) (tree). 
River, Mont. 626 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
List of specimens—Continued 
Coll. No. 
H 
m 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
t 
e 
o 
Extent. 
tfl 
.5 
& 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4230 
July 16,1874 
July 17,1874 
Aug. 12,1874 
Aug. 13,1874 
Aug. 15,1874 
Two eggs (nest on 
the ground). 
4231 
River, Mont. 
4422 
West of Sweet grass 
Hills, Mont. 
Skin (melanistic). 
4439 
....do 
4454 
River, Mont. 
21. 50 
49. 75 
15. 25 
Skin (melanistic). 
$ 
21.25 
52.00 
16.00 
4509 
Rocky Mountains, 
lat. 49°. 
Aug. 17,1874 
....do. 
4510 
4511 
One egg (addled). 
Skin. 
4635 
d 
— do 
Aug. 29,1874 
do 
ARCHIBUTEO FERRUGINEUS, (Liclit.) Gray, 
Ferrugineous Buzzard, 
This large and handsome Hawk was found breeding on the Pembina 
Mountains by one of Lieut. F. V. Greene’s party, who secured two fledged 
young ones early in July, and brought them into camp, where they were 
kept as pets for some time. Their great size induced the general belief 
that they were “eagles”—an impression which my assertions to the con- 
trary may have weakened in the minds of those who had some faith in 
me, qua ornithologist, though others, more confident, seemed to have 
said faith somewhat disturbed. I was obliged to compromise with the 
remark that they might after all make pretty good eagles for a “topog. 
outfit”, though they could not pass for such royal birds in my own camp. 
Later in the following season, the species was again found breeding on 
the Two Forks of Milk River, being one of the quartette of great Hawks 
which had their nests together on the cut-banks of the stream, as men- 
tioned in a preceding paragraph. July 18, one of the parents and the 
two young birds, just fully fledged, were secured. I did not visit the 
nest, which, I was informed, was situated at the brink of one of the 
highest embankments. The species has already been reported, by Capt. 
T. Blakiston, R. A., from the region of the Saskatchewan. The present 
quotation, from the Pembina Mountains, is the northeasternmost to date, 
and considerably extends the known range of the species. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
X 
£ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
bL 
& 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4235 
4236 
4237 
.... 
Two Forks of Milk 
River, Mont. 
July 18,1874 
Elliott Coues. 
Skin; parent of 
Nos. 4236, 4237. 
Skin (nestling). 627 
COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
AQUILA CHRYSAETUS, (Linn.) 
Golden Eagle. 
The Golden Eagle, though an inhabitant of the region at large, was 
only observed in one locality, at the Sweetgrass Hills, where one or 
more were seen very frequently. On one of the small affluents of the 
Milk River, a little west of the hills, two nests were found, built directly 
on level ground, yet at the brink of a cut-bank, which seemed to answer 
as the apology for the crag to which the bird usually resorts. Although 
the nests were empty and deserted, there can be no reasonable doubt of 
their belonging to the Golden Eagle—they were far too large to be those 
of any Hawk, and there was no trace of the presence of Bald Eagles in 
this dry country. One that I examined carefully was placed on the 
edge of a very slight embankment, not so steep that I could not easily 
walk up to it. It was rather on the brow pf a hillock than on the brink 
of a cliff. It was composed of sticks, some as large as a man’s wrist, 
brushwood, and bunches of grass and weeds, with masses of earth still 
adhering to the roots. The diameter was about four feet in one direc- 
tion and three in the other, owing to the conformation of the ground. 
The mass of material averaged about six inches in depth. The other 
nest was described to me as considerably larger. Both were empty and 
apparently deserted. 
HALIAETUS LEUCOCEPHALUS, {Linn.) Savig. 
Bald Eagle. 
While steaming down the Red River from Morehead to Pembina, we 
frequently saw Bald Eagles sailing overhead, and several nests were 
noticed upon the tops of tall, isolated trees as we passed along. Upon 
one of the nests the parent was observed sitting, but whether incubat- 
ing or brooding her young could not of course be ascertained. This 
was the last week in May. There was a young bird in the gray plum- 
age in confinement at Fort Pembina, and I was informed that it had 
been procured in the vicinity. 
Three “kinds” of Eagles, aside from the Golden Eagle, which is not 
generally very well known in the United States, are usually recognized 
by the people, who can hardly be convinced that they are stages of 
plumage of the present species: these are the “black”, “gray”, and 
“bald” Eagle—names which respectively indicate the plumages of the 
first, second, and third years of the bird’s life. 
CATHARTES AURA, (Linn.) Ill, 
Turkey Buzzard. 
Frequently seen in the Red River region. My note-books make no 
mention of its occurrence during the second season, but it is not to be 
supposed absent, even if it was not observed. It is probably not resi- 
dent in this country, and I saw none during the colder months at Fort 628 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
Randall, where it was first noticed, during the spring of 1873, about the 
middle of April. 
ECTOPISTES MACRURA,* (Linn.) Cones. 
Wild Pigeon. 
Countless flocks of Wild Pigeons pervaded the atmosphere of the Red 
River Valley during the latter part of May and early portion of June, 
1873. We observed them continually during our voyage down the river, 
and for some days afterward at Pembina, streaming through the air in 
endless succession of flocks. They generally flew high, far beyond gun- 
shot, but in early morning and just before nightfall often came low 
enough to afford a shot. The woods along the river were filled with the 
stragglers, which of course could be easily secured. They breed here 
in limited numbers, but no general “pigeon-roost” was formed in the 
immediate vicinity. I took one nest, containing a single egg, Juue 13. 
A few of the birds straggled westward to Turtle Mountain, where one 
was shot in July. The next season none was seen in any part of the 
Missouri or Milk River region ; but in the Rocky Mountains the species 
was again met with in small numbers, and a young bird, doubtless bred 
here, was secured at Chief Mountain Lake. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. N o. 
M 
© 
GO 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
1 £ 
Q 
© 
A 
Extent. 
. 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2836 
2913 
2964 
2975 
d 
Pembino, Dak 
June 4,1873 
June 7,1873 
June 13,1873 
June 14,1873 
July —, 1873 
Aug. 23,1874 
Elliott Cones 
Skin. 
do. 
do 
Turtle Mountain, 
Dak. 
Rocky Mountains, 
latitude 49°. 
....do 
do 
17. 00 
23.50 
8.50 
do. 
4587 
.... 
do 
—do. 
ZE2UEDURA CAEOLINENSIS, (Linn.) Bp, 
Carolina Turtle Dove, 
Common at Pembina in Jone, and again observed the following season 
on the Upper Missouri. 
TETRAO CANADENSIS FRANKLINI, (Dougl.) Coues. 
This variety of the Canada Grouse or Spruce Partridge is characteristic 
of the Northern Rocky Mountains, where it was seen, and where several 
Franklin’s Spruce Grouse. 
*Coluniba macroura Linn. SN. ed. x, 1758,164. (Kalm, Beskrifning pade vilda Dufvor, 
Som somliga ar i sa otrolig stor mykenhet kotnma til de Sodra Engelska 
nybyggen i Norra America. < Kongl. Svenska Vetensk.-Acad. Handl. xx, 
1759, pp. 275-295.—See also Catesby, pi. 23; Edwards, pi. 15.) 
Ectopistes macrura Coves, BNW. 1874, 766.—Augiiey, First Ann. Rep. U. S. Entom. 
Comm. 1878, App. p. [46]. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
629 
specimens were secured in August, 1874. It was not seen in the foot- 
hills, even in apparently eligible situations, nor until we were fairly in 
the mountains, among the timber and dense windfalls, where it was 
rather common in the vicinity of our camp at Chief Mountain Lake. 
List of specimens, 
Coll. No. 
M 
© 
m 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
ti 
Q 
£ 
Nature of specimen 
and remarks. 
4529 
? 
Itocky Mountains, 
latitude 49°. 
Aug. 20,1874 
Elliott Coues. 
18.25 
28. 00 
8.50 
Skin. 
4530 
? 
do 
17. 50 
26. 75 
8.30 
do. 
TETRAO OBSCUEUS RICHARDSONI, {Bough) Coties. 
Richardson’s Dusky Grouse, 
The remarks made under head of the last species apply equally well 
to the present, which was found iu the same situation. It appeared to 
be rather the more numerous of the two. A large number of individuals 
were shot for sport or for food by various members of the party. 
There is no doubt that a species of Ptarmigan, Lagopus leucurus, in- 
habits the higher elevations of the Rocky Mountains in this latitude. 
While at Pembina, I was assured of the existence of a species of 
“ Wood Grouse”, different from the Spruce Partridge, or “Black Grouse”, 
in the mountains of the same name. This statement, I presume, refers 
to Bonasa umbellus. i!lo Ruffed Grouse of any variety were seen in the 
Rocky Mountains, but probably only through default of observation, 
as the B. umbelloides is an inhabitant of this region. 
List of specimens. 
6 
ft 
o 
O 
Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4540 
$ 
Rocky Mountains, 
Ang. 21,1674 
Elliott Coue3 
19.50 
28. 00 
8.50 
Skin. 
4541 
latitude 49°. 
17. 50 
25. 40 
8.00 
4544 
.... 
..do 
—do 
do. 
CENTEOCERCUS UEOPHASIANUS, {Bp.) Sic. 
Sage-cock; Cock of the Plains. 
The entire absence of this species from the Bed River region is one 
of the characteristic points of distinction betweeu this watershed and 
that of the Missouri. No Sage-cocks were seen during the first season, 
not even within the Missouri Coteau, in the vicinity of Fort Stevenson. 
Though the climatological conditions are the same as those of some re- 
gions where they abound, yet we miss the peculiar aspect of the sage- 
brush country to which they cling so pertinaciously. Upon leaving Fort 630 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
Buford, during the second season, we soon entered a favorable tract 
where the birds were tolerably common, and where several specimens 
were secured. At this time, the last week of June, the chicks were 
already flying smartly, having attained ou an average the size of quails. 
The birds were traced to the mouth of the Milk River. Further west 
and north, the country seems to be too open for them, and no more were 
noticed. 
It is a great mistake to suppose that this bird feeds entirely upon 
sage, as has been repeatedly asserted. A number of young birds which 
I opened, shot near the mouth of the Milk River, had the craw full of 
some kind of small aquatic beetle, which they had gleaned from a marshy 
spot near by, with only traces here and there of vegetable matter. 
Others had the crop stuffed with grasshoppers. 
6 
* 
£ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
ti 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4071 
? 
Wolf Creek, Mont.. 
June 27,1874 
Elliott Couea. 
22. 50 
37. 50 
10.50 
Skin. 
407k2 
...do 
4073 
...do 
.. do. 
4074 
do 
.... do. 
4075 
do 
....do 
41-22 
July 1,1874 
....do 
Kiver, Mont. 
List of specimens. 
PEDKECETES PHASIANELLUS COLUMBIAN US, {Ord) Coucs. 
Sharp-iailed Grouse; “Prairie Chicken.” 
The whole of the region surveyed during my connection with the Com- 
mission lies beyond the range of the true Prairie hen (Cnpidonia ciqrido)’, 
while the Sage-cock, as just said, is conlined to a limited portion of the 
Missouri country in the latitude of 49°. This leaves the field clear to 
the Sharp tailed Grouse, which replaces the Prairie-hen, and abounds 
throughout the region from the Red River to the Rocky Mountains. In 
the “ Birds of the Northwest”, I carefully traced the general distribution 
of the species, particularly along the line where it inosculates with the 
range of the cttpido. To this account I would refer for particulars not 
here given, as well as for a careful description of the various changes of 
plumage and other points, to give which would exceed the due bounds 
of the present article. 
In the latitude of Pembina, the Chickens begin to lay the latter part 
of May or first of June. The first two weeks of the latter mouth are at 
the height of the laying and setting season. The earliest egg I pro- 
cured was one cut from the parent June 4; but within a day or two 
a full set of eleven was found. Thirteen was the largest number se- 
cured in any one clutch ; the smallest, among those in which incubation 
had progressed, was five. Average measurement of thirty specimens is COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
631 
1.75 by 1.25; extremes of length, 1.80 and 1.60; of breadth, 1.30 and 
1.20. When the shell is first formed, it is of a pale, dull greenish 
color; but before the egg is laid it acquires a drab or olive color by 
mixture of brown pigment with the original shade, and finally gains a 
uniform sprinkling of dark brown dots. The nests are found in various 
situations. Some are made out on the bare prairie, far from any land- 
mark ; others in moister tracts overgrown to willow-bushes. The first 
chicks I saw were caught on the 19th of June ; these were newly hatched. 
They are very expert in hiding from the time they leave the shell. 
On threatened danger, the mother alarms them with a peculiar note, 
when they instantly scatter and squat; the mother then whirs away, 
but not until assured of their safety. The feathers of the wings and 
tail sprout first to replace the down, as in the case of the domestic fowl, 
in striking contrast to the growth of water-fowl, which become pretty 
well feathered long before their wings are serviceable for flight. The 
next feathers after the wings and tail are some on the poll; next appear 
strips of feathers on the breast and back ; and with the completion of 
the process a plumage is assumed which lasts through part of September. 
In consequence of the rapid growth of the wing-feathers—a wise provi- 
sion for the safety of birds until then exposed to numerous dangers—the 
young take short flights in a few weeks. I saw them beginning to top 
the bushes early in July; most of them fly quite smartly by the middle 
of this month, being then about as large as Quail (Ortyx), though some 
of them do not grow to this size for a month subsequently, showing a 
considerable range of variation in the time of hatching. 1 doubt that 
two broods are reared in a season, except perhaps in case of an accident 
to the first family; and for that matter, the birds seem to have all they 
can do to get a single set of chicks off their hands. 
The plumage last mentioned is retained during the greater part of 
September, and is unmistakable evidence of immaturity. The birds 
are “fit” to shoot, in one sense, from the time they are two-thirds grown, 
and afford sport enough of a certain grade; but they ought to be let 
alone, unless one merely wishes food, until the moult, which occurs some 
time in September, is completed. They then acquire a clean, fresh, and 
crisp plumage, differing decidedly from that before worn, and come into 
prime condition. The old birds, which are in woful plight by midsum- 
mer, have by this time also accomplished the moult and come into fine 
feather again. The change in either case is gradual and protracted, 
arid at no time are the birds deprived of flight, like ducks at the same 
trying period. 
To ascertain the food of this grouse during the summer, as well as 
that of other species, is a matter of more than simple curiosity. The 
service they render in destroying grasshoppers, too often overlooked, 
cannot be too strenuously insisted upon, or too prominently brought to 
notice. I have sometimes been tempted to believe that the increasing 632 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
numbers of the scourge may be due, iu part at least, to the wholesale 
destruction of summer grouse (both this species and the Pinnated), at 
the period when their services are most valuable. I have of course, in 
my proper official capacity, killed and opened great numbers of the 
birds during the whole season; and I almost invariably found their 
crops stuffed with grasshoppers, the only other contents being buds or 
flowers or the tops or succulent leaves of various plants, and small num- 
bers of beetles, spiders, or other insects. At the height of the grass- 
hopper season, however, the birds appear to eat scarcely anything else, 
and each crop will contain a large handful. If an army of grouse could 
be mustered and properly officered, they would doubtless prove more 
effectual iu abating the pest than any means hitherto tried. 
In the winter, according to my observations made at Fort Randall, 
the food of the grouse consists chiefly of cedarberries aud other hard 
fruits that persist, aud the sealed buds of various amentaceous trees. 
During the latter part of September or early in October, when old 
and young have both finished the renewal of their plumage, and the 
family arrangements are foreclosed, the habits of the birds are consider- 
ably modified,—iu nothing more than in the degree of shyness they ex- 
hibit. During the summer, also, they are rarely seen on trees, or on the 
open prairie, except in the vicinity of wooded or brushy tracts to which 
they may retreat. Now grown more confident, they scatter over the 
high prairie to feed, following up the ravines that lead from the water- 
courses, and in the afternoon returning to roost in the tops of the tallest 
trees. These daily excursions and returns may be very plainly noted 
along the Missouri, where the cottonwood bottoms are sharply divided 
from the limitless prairie. During the winter, especially when the 
ground is covered with snow, their arboreal habits are confirmed. The 
birds then hug the timber, and sometimes, on lowering or stormy days, 
remain motionless on their perches for hours together. 
Along the Missouri, above the Yellowstone, the birds were seen iu 
considerable numbers during the second season ; but they were scarcely 
so common as along the lied and Mouse liivers. Small chicks were seen 
the latter part of June. In the still more arid and forbidding region 
through which the northern affluents of the Milk River flow, there were 
fewer still; days sometimes passed without my seeing any. In the bet- 
ter country about the Sweetgrass Hills, they recurred in sufficient num- 
bers to afford fair sport; in the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains, 
they were almost as numerous as anywhere else. They occur in the 
mountains up to au altitude of at least 4,200 feet, where they meet, at 
the bottom of the coniferous belt, the Spruce Partridge and Dusky 
Grouse. All three of these birds were common about our camp at Chief 
Mountain Lake. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
633 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
.d 
bJD 
a 
a> 
Extent. 
ti 
p 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2848 
June 4,1873 
2898 
June 6,1873 
duct. 
Set of 11 eggs. 
Set of 5 eggs. 
2899 
2914 
.Tune 7,1873 
2934 
June 11,1873 
June 16,1873 
June 18,1873 
June 19,1873 
Set of 11 eggs. 
3004 
18.00 
27.00 
8.00 
3041 
$ 
Skin and 12 eggs. 
3047 
rf 
19.00 
26.00 
8.50 
3059 
Skin (chick). 
3060 
3099 
$ 
do 
June 22,1873 
3100 
... do 
Skin (chick). 
Set of 5 eggs. 
Skin (chick). 
3110 
3159 
do 
June 25,1873 
3160 
3161 
do 
3221 
June 30,1873 
3222 
3223 
3226 
Julv 5,1873 
3227 
do 
3241 
Pembina Mts., Dak 
Turtle Mt., Dak 
July 13,1873 
July 20,1873 
July 23,1873 
July 30,1873 
Aug. 24,1873 
June 22,1874 
3335 
cT 
3354 
do 
3380 
3573 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Big Muddy River, 
Mont. 
17.00 
28.00 
4014 
? 
.. do. 
4015 
Skin (chick). 
4016 
4076 
Wolf Creek, Mont... 
June 27,1874 
4077 
4512 
d 
Rocky Mountains, 
latitude 49°. 
Aug. 18,1874 
Skin. 
CHARADRIUS FULVUS VIRGIN1CGS, (Boric.) Cones. 
American Golden Plover 
No Golden Plovers are seen in summer in any portion of the region 
explored. They pass through in large numbers during the vernal mi- 
gration, in the mouth of May, and return again in the fall—the latter 
part of September. They were very abundant at this time along the 
Mouse River, and in fact on the prairie at large, for they scatter indis- 
criminately over large tracts, feeding upon the grasshoppers. Many 
were shot for food, to replenish a larder upon which four months’ steady 
attention had made serious inroads. At this season, they were in excel- 
lent order, and proved very acceptable. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
& 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3828 
3829 
d 
? 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Sept. 27,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
10.75 
10.10 
22.50 
22.50 
7.00 
7.10 
Skin; weight, 4J oz. 
Skin. 634 
BULLETIN united states geological survey. 
YOCIFERA, (Linn.) Bp. 
Kildeeb Plover. 
Abundant thoughout the summer in all suitable places; and as it is 
not a fastidious bird, it seemed to be satisfied anywhere near water, 
though hardly upon the dry plains, like the following species. A nest 
with eggs was taken June 30 near the mouth of Milk River—rather, the 
eggs were taken from a slight depression on the pebbly margin of a 
stream, which answered for a nest. 
List of specimens, 
Coll. No. 
M 
& 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
! Extent. 
W) 
.2 
% 
Nature of spec i m en, 
and remarks. 
2950 
4031 
4107 
4387 
4494 
.... 
June 11,1873 
June 26,1874 
June 30,1874 
Aug. 10,1874 
Aug. 16,1874 
Elliott Cones 
Skin. 
Quaking Ash River, 
Mont. 
Near Mouth Milk 
River, Mont. 
W est of Sweetgrass 
Hills, Mont. 
Rocky Mountains, 
latitude 49°. 
Four eggs. 
Skin. 
do. 
ENDROMIAS MON TAN US, (Towns.) liar tiny 
Mountain Plover. 
The occurrence of this bird in the Milk River country, along the pa- 
rallel of 49°, where it was breeding in considerable numbers, is a matter 
of interest, as fixing the northernmost points at which the species has 
thus far been observed. It does not appear to enter the Red River 
Basin, nor did I see it in the immediate vicinity of the Missouri below the 
mouth of Milk River. At this point, it was first seen July 1, and it was 
traced thence across the country nearly to the Sweetgrass Hills, beyond 
which it was lost. Its centre of abundance in this region was the vicinity 
of Frenchman’s River, where many specimens, both adult and young, 
together with a set of three eggs, were secured during the first and 
second weeks in July. Three I believe to be the usual number. The 
birds seem to be at no time very wary or suspicious, and when they 
have a nest near by, or are leading their young over the prairie, they 
will scarcely retreat before threatened danger. Upon invasion of their 
breeding-places, they utter a singular, low, chattering cry, quite unlike 
the usual soft, mellow whistle, fly low over the ground to a short dis- 
tance, or run swiftly for a few paces, and then stand motionless, drawn 
up to their full stature. The chicks are white beneath, curiously varie- 
gated in color above, with naked livid spaces about the neck. Almost 
from the first, they are difficult to capture alive; at the note of warning 
from the parent, they scatter with amazing celerity, and soon squat, 
when they become at once invisible, even in the scantiest herbage of the COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
635 
prairie. The nesting period is protracted, for at the time I took nearly 
fresh eggs, well-leathered young, shifting for themselves, had already 
been observed. 
List of specimens, 
Coll. No. 
* 
Locality. 
Dale. Collector. 
Length. 
j Extent. 
w> 
£ 
Nature of specimen 
and remarks. 
4120 
4131 
4132 
4133 
4182 
4188 
4189 
4190 
4>9l 
4192 
4210 
4211 
4219 
4220 
4229 
4260 
d 
New month of Milk 
River, Mont. 
Frenchman’s River, 
Mout. 
do 
do 
July 1,1874 
July 4,1874 
... do 
Elliott Coues. 
Skin. 
do 
... do. 
Skin (young). 
Set of 3 eggs. 
Skin. 
Skin (parent of 
Nos. 4090-2). 
Skin (chick). 
.... 
Near Frenchman’s 
River, Mont. 
July 9,1874 
....do 
9 
. do 
do 
July 10,1874 
do 
Skin. 
... do. 
.... 
Near Two Forks of 
Milk River. 
July 13,1814 
.... 
Two Forks of Milk 
River. 
Crossing of Milk 
River, Mont. 
July 16,1874 
July 23,1874 
...do 
RECCRVIROSTRA AMERICANA, Gm. 
American Avocet. 
Not observed in the Red River region, but found breeding in great 
abundance in the Milk River country, where it seemed specially fond of 
the alkali pools, that are too numerous for the traveller’s comfort. It is 
one of the most conspicuous birds of the saline region, and may be rec- 
ognized at any distance by its resemblance to a Crane in miniature. Its 
loud voice is peculiar, and the clamor is incessant when the breeding- 
places are invaded. The bird nests rather early, as by the first week of 
July, when I first encountered it at Frenchman’s River, the young were 
already fledged, and by the middle of the month were on wing. At 
this age, they show a curious enlargement of the shank, which is swollen 
to much greater calibre than that of the tibia. The birds being abund- 
ant, and also very unsuspicious, a fine series of specimens was readily 
secured. They were generally observed in flocks of half a dozen to two 
dozen, wading about in the shallow water, often beyond gunshot from 
the shore, and at such times presenting a singularly pleasing and pic- 
turesque appearance. On getting beyond their depth, they begin to 
swim without difficulty, and frequently alight directly on deep water. 
They feed by immersing the head and neck for some moments together, 
during which time they are feeling about with their curious bills. Their 
preference for the alkaline pools may be less due to the quality of the 
water itself than to its shallowness and stillness, and the peculiarly soft, 
oozy, and almost slimy condition of the bottom. 636 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
List of specimens. 
Cell. No. 
Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent 
hie 
fl 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4135 
July 6,1874 
Skin. 
Mont. 
4136 
4156 
do 
July 8,1874 
do 
19. 00 
19.00 
9. 50 
do. 
4391 
Aug. 11,1874 
JBills, Mont. 
4435 
.... 
Headquarters Milk 
Aug. 13,1874 
J. H. Batty .. 
16.50 
28. 00 
8.25 
do. 
River, Mont. 
4436 
do 
do 
do 
17. 50 
■29. 75 
9.00 
do. 
4437 
do 
do 
do 
17. 00 
27. 75 
8. 00 
do. 
4650 
Aug. 29,1874 
4651 
4652 
4653 
4654 
4656 
4657 
4658 
STEGANOPUS WILSONI, (Sab.) Cones. 
Wilson’s Phalarope. 
Breeds throughout the country, from the Bed River to the Rocky 
Mountains, and in suitable places common, though never observed in 
large numbers at any one place. I had no opportunity of observing it 
after August, and am inclined to think it retires southward in advance 
of most of the waders. Even during the latter part of August, when 
other waders were regularly flocking, I never saw the Phalarope in 
companies of more than half a dozen individuals, and it probably never 
makes up in large flocks, like the other two species. At Pembina, it 
was breeding about reedy pools and prairie sloughs in June. I was not 
so fortunate, however, as to discover a nest, though I searched faith- 
fully more than once. At Mouse River, during the mouth of August, 
it was constantly seen on the pools near the stream. Newly fledged 
birds taken in August are altogether different from the adults in plu- 
mage and color of the naked parts. This first plumage, which strikingly 
resembles on the upper parts that of the Tringa maculata, is worn only 
for a brief period before it is exchanged for uniform ashy and white, 
which characterizes the wdnter state. The birds are extremely gentle 
and confiding during the breeding-season, and may be approached and 
destroyed without the slightest difficulty. 
An excellent contribution to the biography of Wilson’s Phalarope 
has recently been made by Mr. E. W. Nelson, in the Bulletin of the 
Nuttall Ornithological Club, vol. ii, No. 2, April, 1877, pp. 38-43. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
637 
List of specimens, 
Coll. No. 
Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
tb 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3073 
3455 
3456 
3594 
4078 
4152 
4213 
4214 
4215 
4216 
4217 
4256 
June 20,1873 
Aug. 10,1873 
Elliott Cones. 
....do 
Skin. 
Skin: bill 1.10. 
Skin. 
Skin: bill black; 
feet yellowish. 
Skin. 
Mouse River, Dak... 
8.25 
14. 50 
4. 60 
Aug. 30,1873 
June 27,1874 
July 7,1874 
July 12,1874 
8.30 
15.30 
4. 60 
Wolf Creek, Mont... 
Frenchman's River, 
Mont. 
Near Frenchman's 
River, Mont. 
d 
d 
9 
.... 
Near Two Forks of 
Milk River. 
July 21,1874 
Skin (young). 
LOBIPES HYPERBOREUS, {Linn.) Cuv. 
Hyperborean Phalarope. 
A large pool, or little lake, lying by the trail of our party, near the 
eastern base of the Eocky Mountains, a day’s march east of Saint 
Mary’s Eiver, seemed to be a favorite resort for all the waders of the 
region, as well as the Ducks and Geese. There were here congregated 
a surprising number of water-birds—both species and individuals. Of 
the waders, I noticed during an hour’s shooting at this spot on the 16th 
of August two kinds of Phalarope, the Stilt Sandpiper, the Semipal- 
mated, Least, Baird’s, and the Pectoral Sandpipers, the Willet, Greater 
and Lesser Yellowshanks, Solitary and Spotted Tattler, in all no less 
than a dozen species, of which I took specimens of nearly all. It was 
perhaps the ouly still water for many miles around, and thus attracted 
a full congregation of the “ long-legged fraternity”, to say nothing of 
the Ducks and Geese. The Northern Phalarope was among the number, 
rather unexpectedly to me, seeing how early in the season it was. There 
were, however, but very few of this species, in comparison with the 
numbers of the rest. I presume these were early arrivals from the 
north, since it is not probable that the species breed so far south. The 
evidence, however, is obviously negative; and since such boreal nesters 
as the Waxwing and Harlequin Duck were certainly breeding in this 
latitude, the Phalaropes seen here may have been hatched not far away. 
List of specimens. 
o 
ri 
o 
O 
M 
© 
CQ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4495 
.... 
Near Rocky Mount- 
ains, latitude 49°. 
Aug. 16,1874 
Elliott Cones. 
Skin. 638 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
GALLINAGO WILSONI, (Temm.) Bp. 
The Snipe. 
Snipe-shooting opened on the Mouse River the middle of September, 
and for two or three weeks I enjoyed as good sport of this kind as I 
have ever had anywhere. The birds were abundant in the usual kind 
of grounds, here afforded in the vicinity of the reedy pools that are 
strung along near the river, and some excellent bags were made. I had 
previously seen none of the birds, nor were any observed during the 
succeeding season in the Missouri and Milk River countries, where 
there is little to attract them. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
<0 
rJ2 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
.2 
£ 
Natureof specimen, 
and remarks. 
3758 
? 
MouseKiver, Dak... 
Sept. 16,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
11.10 
19.50 
5.25 
Skin: weight, 30 
oz. 5drs. 
3824 
? 
do 
Sept. 27,1873 
do 
10. 00 
15. 75 
5.00 
Skin. 
3825 
cf 
11.50 
18. 50 
5. 30 
3826 
10. 70 
17. 50 
5. 10 
...do. 
3827 
? 
do 
11. 20 
18.20 
5.20 
.. .do. 
MACRORHAMPHUS GRISEUS, (Gm.) Leach. 
Red-breasted Snipe. 
Observation of this species on the Mouse River during the second 
week in August, before the general flight of waders took place, led me to 
infer that it bred in this region, like several other waders not actually 
caught in the act. During the fall migration, in September, the birds 
were extremely numerous, frequenting the pools along the river in large 
flocks; they were unwary, apparently absorbed in their avocations, and 
large bags could easily be made. Out of a lot of thirty or forty killed, 
October 1, partly for my legitimate purposes and partly to improve our 
fare, I selected, carefully measured, and preserved nine individuals, the 
dimensions of which are subjoined in proof that the supposed M. scolo- 
paceus is not a distinct species. The question is fully discussed in the 
“Birds of the Northwest ”. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
X 
© 
m 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
fl 
© 
H 
W 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3458 
Mouse River, Dak 
Aug. 10,1873 
ElliottCoues 
11.90 
19.25 
5. 75 
Skin. 
3459 
V 
12.00 
20. 00 
6. 00 
... do. 
...do. (bill2.20, leg3.40). 
3858 
....do 
Oct. 1,1873 
do 
10. 25 
17.50 
5.40 
3859 
do 
do 
...do 
11.00 
18.50 
5. 65 
... do. (bill2.50, leg3.40) 
3860 
V 
do 
do 
do 
11.25 
19.25 
5. 80 
...do. (bill2.85, leg3 85), 
3861 
11. 50 
19. 00 
5. 75 
...do. (bill2.90, leg4 00). 
...do. (bill2.90, leg4.10) 
3862 
$ 
do 
do 
do 
11.75 
19. 50 
5. 90 
3863 
9 
do 
do 
11.90 
19. 75 
6. 00 
...do. (bill2.95, leg4.00). 
3864 
12.25 
20.25 
6. 10 
.. .do. (Dill3.05, leg 4.10). 
...do. (bill3.25, leg4.15) 
3865 
* 
do 
do 
12.50 
19.50 
5.85 COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
639 
MICROPALAMA HIMANTOPUS, {Bp.) Bd. 
Stilt Sandpiper. 
This highly interesting species is not known to breed except in high 
latitudes, and has usually been regarded as rather rare in the United 
States. I was delighted to find it on the same lucky pool where I got the 
Northern Phalarope, for I had never before seen it alive. We can only 
surmise whether or not it had bred in the vicinity—the date was August 
1G; but the birds were fully flocking, and seemed to be en route. On repass- 
ing the pool August 29, returning from the mountains, I saw it again, 
and added another specimen to the half dozen secured at my first visit. 
In their general appearance and actions, the birds so closely resembled 
the Iied-breasted Snipe that at gunshot range I at first mistook them 
for the latter, and did not recognize them until the specimens were in 
hand. They gathered in the same compact groups, waded about in the 
same sedate, preoccupied manner, fed with the same motion of the head, 
probing obliquely in shallow water with the head submerged, were 
equally oblivious of my approach, and when wounded swam with equal 
facility. The close structural resemblances of the two species are evi- 
dently reflected in their general economy. 
Coll. No. 
Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
be 
Nature of specimen, 
and Remarks. 
4475 ... 
Near Itockv Mts., 
Aug. 16,1874 
Elliott Coues 
1 
f Skin. 
lat. 49°. 
do 
| 
1 do. 
4476 .... 
4477 .... 
do 
do 
...do 
> *9.00 
*16.25 
*5.00 
s ... do.*Average. 
4478 .... 
4479 1 
...do 
4480 
J 
1 do 
4644 .... 
Aug. 29,1874 
List of specimens. 
EREUNETES PUSILLUS, (Linn.) Cass. 
Semipalmated Sandpiper. 
This abundant and familiar little species was noticed at various points 
along the Line during the month of August. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
to 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
i 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3479 
4396 
4399 
4400 
Mouse River, Dak. 
West of Sweetgrass 
Hills, Mont. 
Aug. 10,1873 
Aug. 11,1874 
Elliott Coues. 
Skin. 
... 640 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
TRINGA MINUTILLA, Vieill. 
Least Sandpiper. 
Observed a little earlier thau the preceding species; and I should not 
be surprised if it bred in the immediate vicinity. Not noticed after the 
middle of August. 
List of specimens. 
6 
& 
o 
O 
M 
<2 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
A 
U 
a 
3 
! Extent. 
be 
a 
k 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3383 
3384 
4370 
4397 
4398 
.... 
Turtle Mt., Dak 
July 30,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
Skiu. 
.... 
West of Sweetgrass 
Hills, Mont. 
Aug. 9,1874 
Aug. 11,1874 
5.60 
10. 75 
3.37 
do. 
do 
TRINGA BAIRDI, Cones. 
Baird’s Sandpiper. 
Daring the fall migration, in the month of August, this is one of the 
most abundant Sandpipers in Dakota and Montana. I found it in small 
flocks along the Mouse River, and thence in suitable places to the Rocky 
Mountains; sometimes by itself, oftener mixing with several allied 
species. Its habits, during the season at least, do not appear to be 
peculiar iu any respect. I observed it chiefly on the small saline pools 
of the prairie, generally near water-courses, but sometimes at a distance 
from any permanent stream. It is a very quiet, gentle bird, which may 
be approached w ith ease. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
X 
<D 
m 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
tJD 
a 
© 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3543 
d 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Aug. 21, 1873 
Elliott Coues. 
7. 00 
15.00 
4.80 
Skin. Bill, eye, and 
feet black. 
3544 
r? 
7. 00 
15. 25 
7.25 
15. 25 
3546 
5 
7.50 
16. 75 
3595 
do 
Aug. 30,1873 
do 
7.15 
15. 25 
4. 75 
...do. 
4385 
Aug. 10,1874 
....do 
Hills, Mont. ” 
4386 
4393 
Aue. 11 1874 
...do 
4394 
4395 
....do. 
4433 
Headwaters of Milk 
Aug. 13,1874 
....do 
7. 40 
15.25 
4. 85 
do. 
River, Mont. 
4642 
Aug. 29,1874 
ains, latitude 49°. 
TRINGA MACULATA, Vieill. 
Pectoral Sandpiper. 
Like the last species, this one is common in both Territories during the 
fall migration. It was first seen the latter part of July, in company COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
641 
with T. minutilla, on the pools about the base of Turtle Mountain. 
Some of the specimens secured were evidently very young birds of the 
year, but whether bred or not in the vicinity is uncertain. 
© 
1 
£ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
tic 
Q 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3371 
3372 
4392 
4492 
4493 
.... 
Turtle Mt., Dak... 
July 58,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
Skin. 
.... 
West of Sweet-grass 
Hills, Mont. 
Near llocky Mount- 
ains, latitude 49°. 
Aug. 11,1874 
Aug. 16,1874 
List of specmenn. 
LIMOSA FEDOA, {Linn.) Ord, 
Geeat Maebled God wit. 
The breeding-range of this well-known bird remained until recently 
uncertain, and its eggs were long special desiderata of the National 
Museum. At Saint Paul, t saw in the collection of the Academy of 
Natural Sciences of that city a set which had been taken in Minnesota. 
The bird has been ascertained to breed also in Iowa, and I was satisfied 
that it did so at Pembina. The birds that I observed in this locality 
showed by all their actions, readily interpreted by one familiar with the 
subject, that they were nesting; and I did not hesitate to so assert, 
though I was not successful in my search for the nest. This was of 
date June 20, 1873. The species was not observed west of this point. 
ColL No. 
M 
& 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
P 
-S 
H 
w 
ui 
-9 
1? 
Nature of specimen, 
and remar ks. 
3071 
? 
Pembina, Dak 
June 20,1873 
Elliott Cones 
Skin. 
List of specimens, 
LIMOSA HiEMASTICA, (Linn.) Coues. 
While in camp at the Two Forks of Milk Kiver, I was shown a sjieci- 
men of this species, in full plumage, in the collection of my colleague, 
Mr. G. M. Dawson, Naturalist of the English Commission. It had been 
taken, I understood, some distance east of this point. I did not myself 
observe the species. 
Hudsonian Godwit. 
TOTANUS SEMIPALMATUS, (Gm.) Temm. 
WlLLET. 
Though the specimens preserved were all taken in August alone, I 
occasionally observed the species at different times during both seasons, 642 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
and at various points from the Red River to the Rocky Mountains. It 
breeds in this region—in fact, the limit of its northward distribution is 
only six or seven degrees beyond—as it does in suitable places through- 
out the United States. I have myself observed it during the breeding- 
season in New Mexico and North Carolina, as well as in the present 
region. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
K 
© 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
£ 
ci 
a 
CD 
Extent. 
a 
& 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3460 
Mouse River, Dak... 
Aug. 10,1873 
Aug. 16,1873 
Aug. 16,1874 
Aug. 17,1S74 
3533 
4491 
Near Rocky Mount- 
ains, latitude 49°. 
4508 
....do. 
TOTANUS MELANOLEUOUS, {Om.) Vieill 
Greater Yellowsiianks. 
Not observed until the last week iu July; very abundant, in August 
and September, throughout the region. This and the succeeding species 
are almost invariably found together, and frequently associating in the 
same flock. Their habits are exactly the same. They are generally 
accounted shy and wary birds in settled districts, and so I have usually 
found them; but in the wilds of the West they are among the most 
unsuspecting of the waders, and may be approached without the slight- 
est difficulty. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
£ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
a 
© 
M 
W 
be 
a 
£ 
Natureof specimen, 
and remarks. 
3539 
9 
Aug. 19 1873 
3560 
A ue. 23, 1873 
14.00 
25. 00 
7. 75 
3501 
do 
do 
do 
13.50 
84. 50 
7.90 
— do. 
35.'0 
Aue. 24,1873 
3581 
3586 
Allg. 2f> 1fi73 
13.40 
24.75 
4286 
July 1874 
4438 
Headwaters Milk K., 
Aug. 13,1874 
J. II. Batty... 
13.50 
24.25 
7.60 
do. 
Mont. 
4499 
Ang. 16,1874 
4646 
do 
Aug. 29j 1874 
...do 
TOTANUS FLAYIPES, (Gm.) Vieill. 
Lesser Yellowshanks 
See remarks under head of the last species, equally applicable here. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
643 
6 
yA 
o 
O 
© 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
& 
ti 
a 
© 
-4-3 
a 
-2 
W 
a 
£ 
N attire of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3406 
Tnrtle Mountain, Dak. 
Mou.-e River, Dak 
Aug. 5,1873 
Aug. 10, 1873 
Elliott Coues. 
Skin. 
3461 
$ 
10.25 
£0. 75 
3475 
3476 
... do. 
3547 
Aug. 22,1873 
3577 
3578 
3579 
rf 
Aug. 25,1873 
Aug. 30, 1873 
July 25, 1874 
10. 40 
19. 75 
3593 
10.00 
19.50 
6.00 
4-287 
Crossing Milk R., Mont 
4238 
4481 
Near Rocky Mount- 
ains, lat. 49°. 
Aug. 16,1874 
4482 
4483 
4484 
44e6 
4487 
4483 
4647 
Aug. 29,1874 
4 48 
4649 
do 
| I 
List of specimens. 
TOT ANUS SOLITARIUS, ( Wils.) Aud. 
Solitary Tattler. 
Occurs in abundance on all the pools and water-courses of the region 
during the autumnal migration. I have reason to believe that some 
may breed in this latitude. It is almost never seen in flocks, though 
numbers may be gathered about the same piece of water. 
List of specimens. 
1 
Coll. No. 
1 _ 
■% 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
be 
p 
£ 
Natnreof specimen, 
and remarks. 
3407 
Turtle MoaDtain, Dalv. 
Aug. 5,1873 
3408 
354H 
Aug. 22,1873 
354!) 
3502 
Aug. 23,1873 
3563 
4289 
Crossing Milk R., Mont 
Sweetgraas Hills, Mont 
July 25,1874 
Aug. 6, 1674 
4319 
4300 
d 
9 
J. H. Batty... 
9.00 
8. 40 
17.25 
15.25 
5.60 
4. 80 
do. 
4321 
d 
8.40 
15. 80 
4.90 
4379 
West of Sweetgrass 
Hills, Mont 
Aug. 10,1874 
4380 
...do 
4381 
4440 
Aug. 14,1874 
Aug. 16,1874 
Aug. 29,1874 
4490 
Mont 
Near Rocky Mount- 
ains, lat. 49°. 
4044 
4645 644 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
TRINGOIDES MACULARIUS, {Linn.) Gray. 
Spotted Sandpiper. 
The ubiquitous “teeter-tail”, or “peet-weet”, occurs in summer 
throughout the region, as it does in most other parts of North America. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
© 
m 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
| Extent. | 
fcio 
p 
£ 
■j 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2836 
3481 
4431 
■ 
June 4,1873 
Aug. 10,1873 
Aug. 12,1874 
Skin. 
West of Sweetgrass Hills, 
Mont. 
ACTITURUS BARTRAMIUS, (Wils.) Bp. 
Bartramian Tattler. 
This interesting bird is extremely abundant over all the prairie of the 
Bed River region. I found it upon my arrival at Pembina, June 1, and it 
breeds during this month. I took eggs from the second to fourth week 
of June, and found newly hatched birds early in July. The first week 
in June, a female was killed, with an egg in her ready for extrusion. 
During the breeding-season, they seem to scatter indiscriminately over 
the prairie; yet there are particular spots, generally depressed, there- 
fore slightly more fertile, which they particularly afl'ect. They appear 
to leave the country sooner than most of the waders; I saw none after 
the fore part of September, though the majority of the waders continued 
plentiful through most of this month. They make up in flocks before 
their departure. 
In the Missouri aud Milk River regions, they are not nearly so nume- 
rous—in fact, none were observed after leaving the former river; the 
prairie waders which breed further westward being chiefly the Long- 
billed Curlew. 
A tolerably full and, I think, perfectly reliable biography of this 
species will be found in my “Birds of the Northwest”. 
List of specimens. 
c 
fc 
d 
M 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
d 
tc 
a 
<D 
fcb 
Natureof specimen, 
and remarks. 
o 
O 
<D 
ID 
w 
£ 
2847 
June 4,1873 
Egg, cat from ovi- 
duct. 
2874 
0 
June 6,1873 
Contained egg. Bill 
yellow, with black 
ridge and tip: ieet 
dull yellow: eye 
dark brown. 
2875 
d 
do 
do 
do 
11. 50 
22.25 
6. 40 
Skin. 
2943 
June 11,1873 
12. 00 
21.00 
6.25 
2944 
rf 
11.20 
22.00 
6.50 
do. 
2945 
2949 
Set ot' 4 egga. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
645 
List of specimens—Continued. 
Coll. No. 
© 
GO 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent 
bfi 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
2099 
d 
Pembina, Dak 
June 16,1873 
Elbott Coues 
12. 75 
22.00 
6. 75 
Skin. 
3000 
11.75 
21. 50 
(>. 25 
3001 
? 
da 
do 
do 
12.50 
22.75 
6.60 
do. 
3002 
— do 
do 
do 
12.25 
21.50 
6. 60 
do. 
3003 
12.25 
22. 50 
7.00 
3016 
$ 
J017 
tf 
3018 
9 
3019 
d 
3020 
3021 
3022 
rf 
3048 
rC 
June 19,1873 
3072 
3101 
3102 
3111 
3214 
June 28,1873 
3215 
3253 
July 14,1873 
bina Mts. 
3334 
July 18, 1873 
tie Mt. 
' 
3353 
July 23,1873 
3540 
Aug. 19', 1873 
Skin. 
4030 
4037 
'Mont^ 
4038 
eggs 4037.) 
NUMENIUS LONGIROSTRIS, Wils. 
Breeds in moderate numbers about Pembina, the ouly locality where 
it was observed during the first season. The next year it was found iu 
profusion over the prairie adjoining the Missouri above Buford, and the 
lower portions of the Milk River and its tributaries. It seemed, like 
the Bartramian Tattler, to affect particular localities, where colonies of 
twenty or thirty pairs would take up their abode for the summer, and 
make the air resound with their piercing and peculiarly lugubrious cries 
when disturbed. They were found decidedly shy and watchful; and 
being naturally stout, tough birds, they proved rather hard to kill. 
One of the most disastrous shooting exploits I ever attempted was 
directed against these same birds, as some of my friends who witnessed 
the discouraging negative results will remember. There seems to be a 
considerable latitude iu the period of laying; I took a fresh set of eggs 
July 4th, having the day previous captured some young birds. 
Long-billed Curlew. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
■v 
U) 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
fcc 
% 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks 
4100 
4125 
4130 
z 
Near mouth of Milk 
River, Mont. 
Frenchman’s River, 
Mont. 
June 30,1874 
July 3,1874 
July 4.1874 
Elliott Coues 
Skin. 
Skin (young). 
Set of 4 eggs. 646 
bulletin united states geological survey. 
ARDEA IJERODIAS, Linn. 
Great Blue Heron. 
Observed during our passage down tlie Red River. 
NYCTIARDEA GRISEA NA1VIA, {Bodd.) Allen. 
American Night IIeron. 
One individual seen under the same circumstauces as the last. 
BOTAURUS MINOR, (Gm.) Boie. 
American Bittern. 
Apparently rather common on Mouse River in September, several 
individuals being observed and two secured. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
& 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
bi 
P 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3703 
a 
Mouse River, Dak... 
Sept. 2,1873 
Elliott Coues 
28.00 
45.00 
11.00 
Iris yellow; bill 
pale greenish-yel- 
low, with black 
ridge and dark 
coral stripe; legs 
dull yellowish- 
green; claws 
brown. 
3738 
Sept. 8,1873 
23.50 
38.00 
9.50 
GRUS AMERICANA, (Linn.) Temm. 
White or Whooping Crane. 
White Craues were frequently observed in the Mouse River country 
in August, September, and October, but always at a distance ; and I 
was not so fortunate as to secure any specimens. There is no reason to 
doubt their breeding in this section. To the best of my recollection, 
none were seen in the Missouri or Milk River region during the second 
season. 
GliUS CANADENSIS, {Linn.) Tenon. 
Brown or Sandhill Crane. 
Commonly observed after leaving Pembina, especially during the lat- 
ter part of the season. In July, I noticed, in one of the topographi- 
cal camps, the remains of a young bird, which had been caught alive. 
It appears to breed over the whole region, in prairie country. In the 
latter part of September and early in October, both this and the Whoop- 
ing Crane appeared to be migrating southward, chiefly in the night- 
time, when their hoarse, rattling croak often broke the stillness, or 
sounded strong amidst the honking of the geese, the whistling of the 
rushing wings of the wildfowl, and the slender pipe of the waders that 
completed the throng of numberless migrants. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
647 
TOKZANA CAROLINA, Linn. 
Sora Rail. 
Observed during the migration in September along the Mouse River, 
where it appeared to be rather common. Its nesting in this region was 
not determined. 
FULICA AMERICANA, Gm. 
Coot. 
Extremely abundant. Almost all the pools and reedy sloughs of the 
prairie throughout the region from the Red River to the Rocky Mount- 
ains and Upper Missouri country generally are tenanted by one or more 
pairs of these very common-place birds. The sets of eggs taken varied 
from ten to twelve in number, and there is a good deal of difference in 
the coloration, the ground varying from pale clay color to light creamy- 
brown, while the spotting consists sometimes of mere points, sometimes 
of sizable spots. The first set of eggs taken, June 20, contained em- 
bryos which would have been hatched in a day or two; others, taken 
the first and second weeks in July, were fresh ; and, again, nev\ly hatched 
young were found so late as July 26. Unless two broods are reared, as 
is not probable, there is a latitude of a full month in the time of laying. 
The birds were still abundant when I left the country, the second week 
in October. 
The nests of this bird differ a good deal in location and amount of 
material employed. One particularly examined at Pembina consisted 
of a bulky mass of stout reed-stems, about 15 inches across and 8 in 
depth ; it was lined with the softer tops of the reeds. This one was in 
a slough of considerable depth ; it floated on the water—rather, it was 
placed on a matted platform of Heating, broken-down reeds, and was 
moored to the growing plants. Other nests, in very shallow water or 
around the edges of pools, were stationary. 
The newly hatched young are curious-looking creatures, covered with 
black down striped with rich golden yellow or orange ; bill vermilion- 
red, black-tipped; feet dark. 
List of specimens. 
6 
ft 
'o 
U 
M 
<D 
rJj 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3064 
3364 
3365 
3858 
4118 
4176 
4672 
.... 
Pembina, Dak 
June 20,1873 
J uly 26, le73 
Elliott Coues 
Set of 11 eggs. 
Young, newly 
hatched, 
do. 
Skin. 
Set of 12 eggs. 
Set of 10 eggs. 
Skin. 
Turtle Mountain, 
Dak. 
d 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Near mouth Milk 
River, Mont. 
Frenchman's River, 
Mont. 
Headwaters Milk 
River, Mont. 
Oct. 1,1873 
July 1,1874 
July 8,1874 
Aug. 30,1874 
do 
16.00 
28. 50 
7.50 648 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
Family ANATID.E. 
Swan, Geese, and Ducks. 
A few words of comment upon the general subject will place it in 
clearer light than that which the series of isolated remarks furnishes, and 
render lengthy accounts of the several species unnecessary. During the 
autumnal migration, vast bands of water-fowl euter Montana and Dakota 
from the north. The nature of the country is such that the birds stop- 
ping for rest and food necessarily come together in immense numbers; 
for superimposed upon their gregarious disposition is the circumstance 
that the water supply is precarious or isolated, the country at large 
wholly unsuited to their wants. The result is, that the most slender 
streams, often mere threads, with scarcely strength to flow, or even 
broken into chains of sloughs, and all the temporary water-holes formed 
in depressions of the prairie, become thronged with the birds. This 
gives an impression of extraordinary numbers of these birds, but it 
should be recollected that we have here the percentage of birds due to 
large areas concentrated in particular spots. Duck-shooting under these 
circumstances becomes a somewhat special branch of the art. 
Another circumstance is, that the parallel of 49° is about on the edge 
of the breeding ground of those species which regularly migrate north- 
ward to breed. A large number of the Ducks, and some of the Geese, 
as is well known, nest indiscriminately in any part of the United States; 
but aside from these, all of which of course occur in the present country 
as well as elsewhere, there are a number of species of truly boreal breed- 
ers, which begin to drop deserters at about this latitude. As a result, 
nearly all of the Ducks of North America, except the maritime and 
thoroughly Arctic ones, nest within our limits. They choose the ponds 
and prairie sloughs, and the little pools in the mountains; and during 
the latter part of the season, these places assume the appearance of a 
farm-yard puddle, from the quantity of droppings and cast feathers. 
In general, throughout this lieport, the tabular lists of specimens 
afford a tolerably fair index to the abundance or scarcity of the several 
species secured; but this fails altogether in the cases of the birds of 
this family, few of which seemed worth the trouble of preparing or the 
expense of transportation, although large numbers were shot as legiti- 
mate objects of sport or to vary our fare. 
CYGNUS BUCCINATOR, liicli. 
Trumpeter Swan. 
Obseived on a few occasions in Dakota late in September and during 
tlie first half of October, during the migration. It appears to pass 
chiefly by night, but I saw a small lot flying in the daytime near Fort 
Stevenson. The species is said to breed in the Yellowstone country, 
and also in Minnesota. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
649 
The other species of Swan, C. americanus, was not recognized, though 
it doubtless occurs during the migration. 
The same remark applies to a species of Goose, Anser albifrons gam- 
beli. 
ANSER HYPERBOREUS, Pall. 
Snow Goose; White Brant. 
Abundant during the migrations. On a former occasion, I noted their 
spring migration in Southern Dakota, at Fort Randall, from the latter 
part of March through most of April. In the fall, I saw none until 
October. 
BRANTA CANADENSIS, (Linn.) Gray. 
Canada Goose. 
Whilst steaming up the Missouri in June, 1874, I saw several broods 
of gosliugs swimming near the banks. At a pool in Montana, west of 
Frenchman’s River, a colony had established themselves to breed; and 
during the time when neither old nor young could fly, several dozeu 
were killed with clubs by some people attached to one of the surveys. 
The frequent nesting of the species in trees, in various parts of the 
Northwest, is perfectly well attested, though the fact did not come 
under my own observation. Birds apparently from the north were 
common along the Mouse River in the latter part of September; a few 
had made their appearance the last of August, and their numbers were 
augmented during the month. 
BRANTA BERNICLA, {Linn.) Scop. 
Brant; Black Brant. 
Observed only during the migration. 
ANAS BOSCHAS, (Linn.) 
Mallard. 
Breeds abundantly throughout the region in suitable places. Flap- 
pers about a week old were seen at Pembina June 20. 
List of specimens. 
d 
fc 
'o 
u 
* 
m 
Vi 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
bfi 
fl 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3065 
3066 
3067 
9 
Pembina, Dak 
June 20,1873 
Elliott Couea 
Skin; parent o f 
Noe. 3066-7. 
Ducklings. 650 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
DAF1LA ACUTA, (Linn.) Jerry na. 
Sprigtail. 
This beautiful Duck, equally attractive on and off the table, is abundant 
throughout the region, not only during the fall migration, but in the 
summer. By the middle of August, the young birds are full-grown, in 
tine feather, and in the best possible condition for the table. Many 
pairs were found breeding in pools in the Milk River region, especially 
in the vicinity of Frenchman’s, early in July. At this period, the young 
and old were equally unable to fly, as the former had not got their 
feathers and the latter had lost theirs. When disturbed in the pools at 
such time, they had the habit, of creeping slyly out on the prairie, and 
squatting so low, like Grouse, that they were often lost, even when the 
herbage was quite scanty. Many were captured by hand or killed with 
sticks. 
List of specimens. 
■ — ■ ■— ■ ■ 
Coll. No. 
H 
£ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
• 
Length. | 
Extent. 
ti 
p 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
ami remarks. 
3068 
3069 
? 
Pembina, Dak 
June 20,1873 
Elliott Cones 
Skin. 
CHAULELASMUS STREPERUS, {Linn.) Gray 
Gadwall. 
Abundant throughout the region, where it breeds, like nearly all the 
other Anatince. Young still unfledged were observed late in August. 
List of specimens. 
© 
ft 
© 
O 
M 
c2 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
A 
be 
a 
■ 
Extent. 
u 
§ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3405 
Turtle Mt, Dak 
Aug. 5,1873 
Elliott Coues 
Skin. 
MARECA AMERICANA, (Gm.) Steph. 
Widgeon. 
Abundant throughout ; breeding. Young still unable to fly were seen 
until the middle of September. 
QUERQUEDULA CAROLINENSIS, (Gm.) Steph. 
Green-winged Teal. 
Extremely abundant throughout. It enters the country by thousands, 
in August, among the earliest arrivals of water-fowl from the north. I 
have little doubt that some breed in Northern Dakota; but as the only COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
651 
“teals’” eggs I took were not identified satisfactorily, and as I saw no 
birds not in perfect feather, I cannot state positively that it does so. 
This was a favorite bird with me for shooting for the table, where I 
always thought it looked better than it did in my collecting-chest. “ Two 
and a half teal, broiled, on toast,” became my well-known limit for sup- 
per; but I never succeeded in “preserving” the third bird without 
mutilation. 
QUERQUEDULA DISCORS, (Linn.) Sieph. 
Blue-winged Teal. 
Arrives early, in the fore part of August, like the Green-wing, and 
becomes very abundant. It also doubtless breeds. 
List of specimens. 
ColL No. 
M 
<2 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 1 
Extent. | 
bi) 
P 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3558 
.... 
Moose River, Dak .. 
Ang.22,1873 
Elliott Coues 
Skin. 
SPATULA CLYPEATA, (TAnn.) Bote. 
Shoveller. 
Abundant throughout. Found breeding on Mouse River, where young 
about half-grown were taken August 10. 
List of specimens. 
© 
fc 
o 
O 
3480 
H 
(0 
C/2 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent 
Wing, j 
i 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
.... 
Mouse Liver, Dak .. 
Aug. 10,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
Skin (young). 
FULIGULA AFFINIS, Eyton. 
Lesser Scaup Duck. 
The Scaups which I found breeding numerously in the Upper Missouri 
and Milk River region appeared to be chiefly, if not wholly, of this spe- 
cies, as several species examined certainly were. At some points, they 
were extremely abundant, outnumbering the other Ducks. 
The F. marila undoubtedly occurs, during the migration at least, if 
not also in the breeding-season. 
FULIGULA COLLARIS, [Donovan) Bp. 
Ring-necked Duck. 
Specimen seen in Mr. Dawson’s collection. 652 
BULLETIN united states geological survey. 
FULIGULA VALLISNERIA, (Wils.) Steph. 
Canvas back Duck. 
The breeding resorts of this celebrated and much over-rated bird were 
for a long time considered uncertain, and its eggs have not long been 
known. They were discovered, I think, by the late Mr. R. Kennicott in 
the northwest part of British America. Mr. W. H. Dali speaks of the 
Canvas-back as breeding abundantly on the Yukon, and Dr. .T. 8. New- 
berry found it “more numerous than any other Ducks” in the Cascade 
Mountains in summer. At Turtle Mountain, in July, I saw several 
broods of partly grown young; a number were secured, with a parent 
bird, so that there is no doubt of the correctness of the identification. 
In most of the region, however, the bird is less numerous than the Red- 
head. 
FULIGULA FERIXA AMERICANA, {Etjt.) Coues. 
Red head Duck. 
Abundant throughout, but whether breeding or not was left undeter- 
mined. None were seen or at least recognized excepting in the migrat- 
ing season. 
BUCEPHALA ISLANDICA, {Om.) Bd. 
Rocky Mountain Golden-eye. 
I was greatly interested to find this species breeding in the Rocky 
Mountains. A brood of young, accompanied by the female, was seen 
on one of the little side-pools, surrounded by timber, at our camp on 
Chief Mountain Lake; the old bird and two of the young, out of five or 
six, were secured by one of the officers of the military escort, who made 
over the flappers to me, but seemed so disinclined to part with the old 
one that I did not press the matter, although I greatly desired the spe- 
cimen. This is, I believe, the first recorded instance of the occurrence 
of the species during the breeding-season in the United States. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
£ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
he 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4542 
4543 
.... 
Rocky Mountains, 
latitude 493. 
Aug. 21,1874 
Elliott Coues. 
Skin (very young). 
BUOEPHALA CLANGULA, {Linn.) Cones, 
Golden-eye. 
Supposed, on good grounds, to occur during the migrations, though 
not observed, at any rate not recognized, by myself. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
653 
BUCEMALA ALBEOLA, (Linn.) Baird. 
Buffle-head. 
This Duck is among the commonest species after the fall migration; 
and I have reason to believe that it nests, in limited numbers, in North- 
ern Dakota, as it certainly does in the Milk River country. At Turtle 
Mountain I found young birds in July, but they were able to fly, and 
may not have been hatched on the spot. 
List of specimens. 
6 
yA 
'o 
O 
& 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3410 
... 
Turtle Mouut’n, Dak. 
Aug. 7,1873 
Elliott Cones 
Skin. 
HISTRIONIC US TORQUATUS, {Linn.) Bp. 
Harlequin Duck. 
It was my good fortune to determine the breeding of this Duck in the 
Rocky Mountains of the United States. There is in the National Col- 
lection an egg cut from a bird taken by Dr. Hayden somewhere in the 
mountains May 31, warranting inference of the fact here established. 
Broods of flappers were discovered on a clear brawling stream near the 
camp on Chief Mountain Lake, and several of them, including the 
mother of one of the broods, were secured. The nest was not found. 
It was probably in the hollow of a tree near the spot. The birds 
showed great powers of swimming and diving in the turbulent stream, 
where they seemed as much at home as the family of Dippers (Cinclus) 
that was seen with them. When disturbed, the old bird flew away low 
over the water, while others sank back quietly till only the head 
remained in view, much like Grebes. Some sought refuge behind and 
beneath a little cascade, screened by the whole volume of water that 
leaped over a projecting rock. One of the broods was seen SAvimming 
quietly in a pool near the lake. 
List of specimens. 
6 
'A 
n 
o 
Q 
M 
£ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
+3 
© 
M 
w 
bC 
fl 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
4528 
4533 
4554 
4555 
.... 
Rocky Mts., lat. 49°. 
Aug. 20,1874 
Aug. 22,1874 
Elliott Cones. 
Skin. 
9 654 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
ER ISM AT UR A RUBIDA, (Wils.) Bp. 
Ruddy Duck. 
Common, and breeding in suitable localities throughout the region. 
At Turtle Mountain, it was nesting in numbers in the pools, where the 
young were observed, still unable to fly, the latter part of July and 
early in August. Several specimens of various ages were secured. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
V 
VI 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length, j 
Extent. 
tb 
fl 
p 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3368 
3363 
3381 
3411 
.... 
Turtle Mt., Dak 
July 28,1873 
Elliott Cones. 
Skin (young). 
Skin. 
Skiu (young). 
...do 
July 30,1873 
Aug. 7,1873 
MERGUS OUCULLATUS, Linn. 
Hooded Merganser. 
This is the only species of the genus actually observed by the Com- 
mission, though the other two doubtless also occur, at least during the 
migrations. It breeds in this region. 
List of specimens, 
6 
ft 
o 
O 
[ Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
a 
S 
w 
•S 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
atd remarks. 
3409 
2 
Turtle Mt., Dak 
Aug. 5,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
18.00 
26.00 
7.50 
Skin. 
3412 
2 
do 
Aug. 7,1873 
do 
do. 
3860 
d 
Mouse River 
Oct. 1,1873 
do 
18.25 
26.00 
7.25 
do. 
PELECANUS TRACHYEEYNOHUS, Lath. 
White Pelican. 
An old female, in sickly condition, was shot from the steamer as we 
neared Pembina, and I heard of one or two other specimens shot on the 
Eed River about this point in May. The species was only once again 
observed, namely, at La Riviere de Lac, near Mouse River, early in 
September. A few individuals were seen, but the locality did not 
appear to be a breeding-place, nor did I find any such elsewhere. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. Mo. 
* 
o 
in 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
a 
£ 
Mature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
*2773 
? 
lied River, near 49°. 
May 31,1873 
Elliott Couee 
Skeleton. 
* Stomach contained about fifty crawfish (Can.barus couesi Streets); pouch diseased, from attacks of 
parasites. COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
655 
GPACULUS DILOPHUS, Sw. 
Double-crested Cormorant. 
Once observed on the Red River, near Pembina, late in May. 
LAPUS ARGENTATUS SMITHSONIAN US, Cones. 
American Herring Gull. 
A specimen was shot by Mr. J. II. Batty near Fort Benton, Mont. 
Some of the large Gulls observed in September duriug our boat voyage 
down the Missouri may have been of this species, but all that were fully 
identified were L. delawarensis. 
List of specimens. 
6 
o 
O 
M 
4* 
VI 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
bD 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
anil remarks. 
4700 
.... 
Hear Fort Benton, 
Mont. 
Sept 8,1874 
J. H. Batty... 
Skin (young). 
LARUS DELAWAEENSIS, Ord. 
Ping-billed Gull. 
A considerable flock of this species was seen hoveriug over Riviere de 
Lac about the middle of September, and two specimens were secured. It 
was not again identified to my satisfaction until the following season, 
when it was seen in considerable numbers on a large pool close by Chief 
Mountain. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
M 
£ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
"Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3745 
3746 
4623 
-- 
Near Moose R., Dak 
Sept. 12,1^73 
Elliott Cones 
Skin. 
Rocky Mts., lat. 49°. 
Aug. 28,1874 
J. n. Batty.. 
LARUS FRANKLINI, Rich. 
Franklin’s Posy Gull. 
The egg of this species has been described by Prof. Alfred Newton, 
from a specimen taken in the adjoining British Province of Manitoba, 
and a specimen was shot on Turtle Mountain July 30, fully fledged, yet 
so young that I judged it had been hatched not far from the spot. No 
breeding colonies, however, of this or indeed any other Gull were 
observed by me in any portion of the region surveyed. BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
List of specimens. 
6 
fc 
o 
U 
M 
£ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent- 
tt> 
a 
i? 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3379 
Turtle lilt., Dai 
July 30,1873 
Elliott Coues 
13.75 
33.75 
9. 75 
Skin. Bill, 1.10 j 
tarsus, 1.65; mid- 
dle toe and claw, 
1.05. 
IIYDROCHELIDON LARIFORM1S, (Linn.) Cones. 
Black Teen. 
This, the only representative of the Sternince observed by the Com- 
mission, was found breeding at Pembina in June, and subsequently 
seen during August along the Mouse River. On one of the prairie 
sloughs at Pembina—the same that I have spoken of as the breeding 
resort of the Yellow-headed Blackbirds—a colony of perhaps twenty 
pairs was established. As usual during the breeding-season with 
Terns, the birds were very fearless when their nesting-place was in- 
vaded, and I regret to say that the colony was broken up in conse- 
quence, as I desired to secure a good series of specimens in full dress. 
No eggs were found until the latter part of the month. It required 
sharp scrutiny to discover them, as they lay, without any preparation 
for their reception, directly upon the soaking, matted masses of last 
year’s reeds, and were closely assimilated in color. They were indiffer- 
ently two or three in number, oftener the latter; average samples 
measured 1.35 in length by 0.95 in breadth. The coloration is not 
peculiar in comparison with that of other Terns’ eggs. 
List of specimens. 
c 
'c 
O 
H 
to 
cc 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
tio 
a 
£ 
Nature of specimen, 
and remark*. 
3023 
H(I94 
3025 
3026 
0 
3027 
3028 
9 
...do 
3029 
9 
3030 
3031 
do 
... do. 
3032 
$ 
3033 
9 
3034 
cf 
3035 
9 
3036 
(V 
3037 
cf 
3038 
rf 
3039 
9 
3102 
Juno 25,1873 
3163 
3164 
3172 
3186 
9 
June 27,1873 
3462 
Aug. 10,1873 
3463 
3478 COUES ON BIRDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
657 
PODICEPS AURITUS CALIFORNICUS, (Eeerm.) Cones, 
American Eared Grebe. 
I was much interested to find this species (not common in collections, 
and until recently supposed to be exclusively Western) breeding abun- 
dantly on Turtle Mountain, one of the easternmost localities where it has 
been observed. Toward the latter part of July and during the first two 
weeks of August, the young, still unable to fly, and in charge of the 
parents, were observed at the locality mentioned, and at points along 
the Mouse River. Some old birds in full breeding-dress were secured. 
With these the change begins in August, but traces persist for several 
weeks. I noticed nothing peculiar in the habits of the species. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
H 
o 
02 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3367 
3392 
Turtle Mountain, 
Dak. 
July 28,1873 
Aug. 1,1873 
Aug. 10,1873 
Elliott Cones. 
12.50 
22.50 
5.25 
Skin. Iris scarlet; 
edge of eyelids 
orange; hill black; 
feet olivaceous, 
blackish on outer 
side and on soles. 
3454 
rf 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
.. do 
14. 00 
24. 00 
3471 
13.10 
22.50 
3529 
? 
Aug. 16,1873 
... .do 
3530 
cT 
3531 
Skin ; young of 
Nos. 3529-30. 
3559 
Aug. 23,1873 
12. 00 
23. 50 
4. 75 
3566 
13. 25 
22.25 
3574 
$ 
Aug. 24,1873 
12.80 
21.85 
3575 
3584 
Aug. 25,1873 
Sept. 2,1873 
Sept. 9,1873 
li. 30 
20. 50 
3716 
11. 60 
22. 00 
4. 75 
3741 
3742 
4670 
Aug. 30,1874 
4671 
River, Mont. 
PODICEPS COBNUTUS, Gm. 
Horned Grebe. 
Like the last species, the Homed Grebe was found breeding in the 
Bed Biver region. On the 20th of June, 1873, I took a set of four 
newly laid eggs from one of the prairie sloughs near Pembina. They 
were deposited on a matted bed of decaying reeds soaking in the water. 
Later in the same season, during the latter part of July, newly hatched 
young were observed swimming on the pools about the base of Turtle 
Mountain. In this locality, and elsewhere, in August and September, 
the two species were generally found together; and both were very 
abundant. 658 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
List of specimens. 
Coll. No. 
H 
£ 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
.2 
Natnreof specimen, 
and remarks. 
3063 
.Tune 20,1873 
3361 
July 26j 1873 
Skin. 
Dak. 
3362 
ilo 
3363 
(lo 
do 
do 
PODILYMBUS PODICEPS, (Linn.) Later. 
Dabciiick. 
Observed in the same situations as the last two species, but less fre- 
quently than either of them. Chicks still unfledged were taken so late 
as August 7. The streaking of the head of the young bird, supposed 
to be peculiar to this species, and once made the basis of a new species, 
is shared by others, as P. cornutus, for example. 
List of 82)ccimens. 
Coll. No. 
V 
GG 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
Length. 
Extent. 
Wing. 
Nature of specimen, 
and remarks. 
3413 
.... 
Turtle Mountain, 
L)ak. 
Aug. 7,1873 
Elliott Coues. 
.... 
Skin (young). 
3455 
Mouse River, Dak .. 
Aug. 10,1873 
do 
14. 00 
24. 75 
Skin. 
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 
Besides the several general works on North American Ornithology 
which bear in due part upon the Birds of the region surveyed, the fol- 
lowing special treatises since Lewis and Clarke, relating to the Avifauna 
of the Boundary and adjacent portions of the country, may be advan- 
tageously consulted:— 
1831. Swainson, W., and Richardson, J. Fauna Boreali-Americana; or the Zoology 
of the northern parts of British America: [etc.] Part Second, The Birds. 
By William Swainson, Esq., [etc.] and John Richardson, M. D., [etc.] Lon- 
don : John Murray. 1831. 4to. pp. lxvi, 524, pis. 24-73, woodcuts 41. 
This remains the standard treatise on the Birds of British America, and is particularly full 
in accounts of the Ornithology of the Saskatchewan Region. 
1837. Townsend, J. K. Description of Twelve New Species of Birds, chiefly from the 
vicinity of the Columbia River. < Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. vii, 1837, pp. 
187-193. 
1839. Townsend, J. K. List of the Birds Inhabiting the Region of the Rocky Mount- 
ains, the Territory of the Oregon and the North West Coast of America. 
< Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. viii, 1839, pp. 151-158. COUES ON BIEDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
659 
1839. Townsend, J. K. Narrative of a Journey Across the Rocky Mountains to the 
Columbia River, [etc.] Philadelphia. 1839. 8vo. pp. viii, 352. 
The Appendix, pp. 331-352, contains a catalogue of the Birds observed in Oregon. 
1839-41. Maximilian, Prinz zu Wied. Reise in das innere Nord-Amerika in den 
Jahren 1832 his 1834. Coblenz. 2 vols. 4to. Yol. i, 1839; vol. ii, 1841. 
French translation, Paris, 8vo, 3 vols., 1840-1843. 
Particularly full on the Birds of the Upper Missouri Region. 
1850. Cabot, J. E. Lake Superior: its Physical Character, Vegetation and Animals 
[etc.] By Louis Agassiz. Boston: Gould, Kendall and Lincoln. 1850. 1vol. 
8vo. 
Chap. VIII. Report on the Birds collected and observed at Lake Superior. By J. E. 
Cabot, pp. 383-385. German translation of the same, in Naumannia, ii, Heft ii, 1852, pp. 
64-66. 
1852. Hoy, P. R. Notes on the Ornithology of Wisconsin. < Trans. Wise. State Agric. 
Soc. 1852, pp. 341-364. Also, < Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. vi, 1853, pp. 304- 
313, 381-385, 425-429. 
Treats of 283 species. 
1854. Barry, A. C. [On the Ornithology of Wisconsin.] < Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. 
v, 1854, pp. 1-13.* 
Annotated list of 218 species. * 
1855. Head, J. F. Some Remarks on the Natural History of the Country about Fort Rip- 
ley, Minnesota. < Ninth Ann. Rep. Smiths. Inst, for 1854, 1855, pp. 291-293. 
Treats briefly of about CO species. 
1857. Kneeland, S. On the Birds of Keweenaw Point, Lake Superior. < Proc. Bost. 
Soc. Nat. Hist, vi, 1857, pp. 231-241. 
Treats briefly of 147 species. 
1858-9. Maximilian, Prinz zu Wied. Verzeichniss der Vogel, welche auf einer Reise 
in Nord-America beobachtet warden. < Journal fur Ornith. vi, 1858, pp. 1-29, 
97-124, 177-205, 257-284, 337-354, 417-445; vii, 1859, pp.81-96. 
1859. Blakiston, T. Scraps from the West. < Newman’s Zoologist, xvii, 1859, pp. 
6318-6325, 6373-6376. 
Field-notes on birds of the Saskatchewan, &c. 
1860. Cooper, J. G., and Suckley, G. The Natural History of Washington Territory. 
4 to. 
A reissue, under another name, of parts of the xii. vol. of the Pacific Railroad Survey Re- 
ports, and containing a general treatise on the Ornithology of Washington Territory. 
1861. Bell, K. Catalogue of Birds collected and observed around Lakes Superior and 
Huron in 1860. < Canadian Nat. and Geol. vi, 1861, pp. 270-275. 
From the Report of the Geological Survey for 1800. 77 species. 
1861-2. Blakiston, T. On Birds collected and observed in the Interior of British 
North America. Ibis, iii, 1861, pp. 314-320; iv-, 1862, pp. 3-10. 
More particularly of the Saskatchewan Region. 
1862. Hayden, F. V. On the Geology and Natural History of the Upper Missouri. 
< Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc. (2), xii, 1862. pp. 1-218. Repub. Phila. C. Sherman 
& Son. 1862. 4to. 
Contains, pp. 151-176, an extended and important article on the Birds. 
1863. Blakiston, T. On the Birds of the Interior of British America. <" The Ibis, v, 
1863, pp. 39-87, 121-155. 
A pearly complete and fully annotated list of the Birds of British America, superseding 
his previous fragmentary accounts. 660 
BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
1864. Lord, J. K. List of Birds collected and presented by the British North American 
Boundary Commission to the Royal Artillery Institution. < Proc. Roy. Art’y 
Inst. 1864, pp. 110-126. 
87 species. 
1865. Hoy, P. R. Journal of an Exploration of Western Missouri in 1854, under tho 
Auspices of the Smithsonian Institution. < Nineteenth Ann. Rep. Smiths. 
Inst, for 1864, 1865, pp. 431-438. 
The narrative relates largely to birds, and concludes with a nominal list of 153 species 
observed. 
1865. Lord, J. K. Catalogue of Birds, Nests and Eggs collected in North-West Amer- 
ica. <[ Proc. Roy. Art’y lust. 1865, pp. 337-339. 
1868. Allen, J. A. Notes on Birds observed in Western Iowa, [etc.] < Mem. Bost. Soc. 
Nat. Hist, i, pt. iv, art. xiii, 1868, pp. 488-526. 
1868. Brown, R. Synopsis of the Birds of Vancouver Island. <lbis, 2d ser. iv, 
1868, pp. 414-428. 
Annotated list of 153 species. 
1868. Gunn, D. Notes of an Egging Expedition to Shoal Lake, West of Lake Winne- 
peg. < Twenty-second Ann. Rep. Smiths. Inst, for 1867, 1868, pp. 427-432. 
1869. Cooper, J. G. Notes on the Fauna of the Upper Missouri. <Amer. Nat. iii, 
1869, pp. 294-299. 
1869. Cooper, J. G. The Fauna of Montana Territory. < Amer. Nat. ii, 1869, pp. 596- 
600; iii, 1869, pp. 31-35,73-84; also p.224. 
These articles include field-notes on many of tho birds of Dakota and Montana. 
1871. Stevenson, J. A List of the Mammals and Birds collected in Wyoming Terri- 
tory by Mr. H. D. Smith and Mr. James Stevenson, during the expedition of 
1870, < Rep. U. S. Geol Surv. (Hayden’s) for 1870, 1871, pp. 461-466. 
Nominal list of 124 species of birds. 
1871. Trippe, T. M. Notes on the Birds of Minnesota. <Proc. [Comm.] Essex Inst. 
vi, 1871, pp. 113-119. 
Annotated list of 138 species. 
1872. Allen, J. A. Notes of an Ornithological Reconnoissance of Portions of Kansas, 
Colorado, Wyoming aud Utah. < Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. iii, No. 6, 1872, pp. 
113-183. 
Contains much important matter. 
1872. Bruhin, T. A. Unsere gefiederten Wintergiiste. < Zool. Gart. xiii, 1872, pp. 
157,158. 
Notes on a few winter birds of "Wisconsin. 
1872. Holden, C. H., and Aiken, C. E. Notes on tho Birds of Wyoming and Colorado 
Territories. By C. H. Holden, Jr. With additional Memoranda by C. E. Aiken. 
Edited by T. M. Brewer. < Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist, xv, 1872, pp. 193-210. 
142 species treated. 
1873. Coues, E. Notes on Two little-known Birds of the United States. <Amer. 
Nat. 1873. . 
Centronyx bairdi and Neocorys spraguii; observations made by the Boundary Commission. 
1873. Merriam, C. H. Report on the Mammals and Birds of the Expedition. < Sixth 
Ann. Rep. U. S. Geol. Surv. (Hayden’s) for 1872, 1883, pp. 661-715. 
Treats of numerous birds of Wyoming, Idaho, &c. 
1873. Trippe, T. M. Notes on the Birds of Southern Iowa. <Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. 
Hist, xv, 1873, pp. 229-242. 
Treats of 162 species. COUES ON BIEDS OF DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 
661 
1874. Allen, J. A. Notes on the Natural History of Portions of Dakota and Montana 
Territories, etc. <Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist, xvii, 1874, pp. 33-86. 
Birds, pp. 44-68. Annotated list of 118 species. 
1874. Coues, E. Birds of the Northwest: A Handbook of the Ornithology of the Re- 
gion drained by the Missouri River and its Tributaries. Washington: Gov- 
ernment Printing Office. 1874. 1 vol. 8vo. pp. xii, 791. 
1874. Coues, E. On the Nesting of Certain Hawks, etc. < Amer. Nat. viii, 1874, pp. 
596-603. 
Field-notes made by the Boundary Commission in Montana in 1874. 
1874. Hoy, P. R. Some of the Peculiarities of the Fauna near Racine [Wisconsin]. 
< Trans. Wise. Acad, ii, 1874, pp. 120-122. 
1875. Grinnell, G. B. Report of a Reconnoissance of the Black Hills of Dakota, made 
in the Summer of 1874. By William Ludlow, [etc.] Washington. Govern-, 
ment Printing Office. 1875. 4to. p. 121. 
Zoological Report by George Bird Grinnell. Birds, pp. 85-102. Field-notes on 110 species.