260 NOTES ON THE 



The song cannot be expressed by any similation of words or 

 syllables, but is totally unlike any other amongst the song - 

 birds. With such a possibility within the reach of any song- 

 loving mortal, who would spend the last dime to hear a Nilsson, 

 and would not go a mile in the open, silent prairie, to hear 

 this peerless skylark? I pronounce an inexplainable paradox. 



Heaven's richest boon to assthetic man are oftenest over- 

 looked or underheard. Awake, dear sleepers! 



Note. The foregoing was written in 1874, at which time I 

 was not aware that anyone else had ever recorded observations 

 of its skylark like performances. I have been greatly de- 

 lighted to find that Langille has given a graphic description of 

 them in his "Birds in Their Haunts," page IS. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 



Q Above, pinkish brown, feathers of back streaked with dusky; 

 a broad band across the crown extending backwards along the 

 lateral tufts; a crescentic patch from bill below the eye. and 

 along the side of the head; a jugular crescent, and the tail 

 feathers black, the innermost of the latter like the back; a 

 frontal band extending backwards over the eye, under parts, 

 with outer edge of wings, and tail, white; chin and throat, 

 yello<v\ 



Length, 7.75; wing, 4.50: tail, 3.25; bill, above, 0.52. 



Habitat, northeastern North America. 



Family CORYID^E. 



PICA PICA HIDSONICA (Sabine). (475.) 

 AMERICAN MAGPIE.' 



The Magpie has not yet become as common as the Blue Jay 

 in Minnesota, but they are here and no check list can leave 

 them out. Since the first that came under my notice in 1869, 

 which was obtained in the timber of the Minnesota river 

 bottom, there have been but few seasons when they were not 

 seen by tho5>e competent to identify them, and several have 

 been obtained. 



Mr. Washburn reported one at Mille Lacs lake last fall, and 

 several were described to me by parties who had never seen 

 them before. 



That this rather rare species should have escaped the notice 

 of early observers is by no means surprising, for when isolated 

 from the flock individual birds of ihis species are as alert and 

 cunning as any other with which I ever had anything to do. 



