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Platte River Status: A fairly common migrant; fairly common and local nesting species in the western half of the study area. Tout (1947) considered rock wren a resident in Lincoln County, stating that it was not common in any locality, but that it occurs throughout the county on migration and during the post- breeding period. Rock wren is a summer resident in the lower North Platte River Valley present 14 April to 2 September (Rosche 1979).

Breeding Range: Restricted primarily to the Platte River Valley and adjacent portions of the Sandhills physiographic regions during the breeding season.

Breeding Population: We found an estimated 9,000 nesting pairs on the randomly selected census plots in 1979-1980. Rock wren made up about 0.3% of the total breeding bird numbers in the study area those years.

Habitat: We found rock wren associated only with extensive rocky canyon areas of upland prairie in the western third of the study area where the mean nesting density was 1.0 pairs per km². Nesting habitat in western North Dakota consisted of deeply eroded arroyos where exposed sedimentary rocks and scoria are interspersed with scattered shrubs (Faanes 1983). Rising (1974) found Rock Wren during the summer in western Kansas in badlands, cliffs, and arid rocky outcroppings.

Effect of Habitat Alteration: Other than the loss of small areas of rocky grasslands for cabin development adjacent to Lake McConaughy, rock wren has been largely unaffected by habitat alteration on the study area.

Nesting Data: We have five confirmed nest records from the study area. Tout (1936) reported an active nest with three eggs near North Platte, Lincoln County on 23 May 1936. An undated set of three eggs (ZM 09182) in the Nebraska Museum of Natural History was collected at North Platte. Collister (1950) observed four adults carrying food 9 km southwest of Brady, Lincoln County, but no nests were located. Faanes observed an adult carrying food on 25 June 1979 in T. 15 N. - R. 40 W., Keith County. Rosche (1979) stated that active Rock Wren nests have been observed as late as 14 August at the Cedar Point Biological Station, Keith County. Kansas egg dates range from 11 May to 20 July, with a peak in mid June (Johnsgard 1979).