218 WAKE-ROBIN 



show two or three white quills in the tail, like the 

 vesper sparrow. Flying over, they utter a single 

 chirp or cry every few rods. They breed in the 

 bleak, moss-covered rocks of Labrador. It is re- 

 ported that their eggs have also been found in Ver- 

 mont, and I feel quite certain that I saw this bird 

 in the Adirondack Mountains in the month of 

 August. The male launches into the air, and gives 

 forth a brief but melodious song, after the manner 

 of all larks. They are walkers. This is a charac- 

 teristic of but few of our land-birds. By far the 

 greater number are hoppers. Note the track of the 

 common snowbird; the feet are not placed one in 

 front of the other, as in the track of the crow or 

 partridge, but side and side. The sparrows, thrushes, 

 warblers, woodpeckers, buntings, etc., are all hop- 

 pers. On the other hand, all aquatic or semi-aquatic 

 birds are walkers. The plovers and sandpipers and 

 snipes run rapidly. Among the land-birds, the 

 grouse, pigeons, quails, larks, and various blackbirds 

 walk. The swallows walk, also, whenever they use 

 their feet at all, but very awkwardly. The larks 

 walk with ease and grace. Note the meadowlark 

 strutting about all day in the meadows. 



Besides being walkers, the larks, or birds allied 

 to the larks, all sing upon the wing, usually poised or 

 circling in the air, with a hovering, tremulous flight. 

 The meadowlark occasionally does this in the early 

 part of the season. At such times its long-drawn 

 note or whistle becomes a rich, amorous warble. 



The bobolink, also, has both characteristics, and, 



