BIRDS OF MINNESOTA. 407 



until it disappeared from my unaided vision, when I brought 

 the glass to my eye and followed him still, all the while sing- 

 ing, singing, singing as he swung right and left, vaulting into 

 the very blue of the heavens, when suddenly he closed his 

 wings and his song, and head downward came down like an 

 arrow, opening his closed wings only when within a yard of 

 the ground, and within the same distance of the very spot 

 from which he ascended. My desire to make sure of his 

 identity had brought my eye to the barrel of my ready gun, 

 when the thought of hearing the song again, and of securing 

 the nest deterred me. As much time as I could possibly spare 

 on that still, beautiful morning having gone, I drove away 

 with a delightful memory and a good resolution to see the bird 

 again. 



That nest, as afterward proved, was near enough to my 

 carriage to have tossed a marble into it, or more probably 

 upon the back of the faithful, devoted female occupying it> 

 The ground had been excavated to the depth of two inches andl 

 the cavity lined with a little fine grass, and contained four 

 dull-white, finely speckled eggs which were quite pointed at 

 one end. I cruelly purposed to appropriate both of the 

 parents of the two remaining eggs (after I had taken two) 

 when the young should be old enough to fly, but I only 

 obtained the male. 



I have seen no more of this species in this section where I 

 live, but met with them once or twice in Grant county. 



A description of its song would be difficult, but it consisted 

 of a succession of notes, beginning at a high pitch and warbled 

 with a deflected "diminuendo," very pleasingly melodious 

 indeed. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 



Above wood-brown, all the feathers edged with paler espec 

 ially on the neck, where there is a brownish-yellow tinge; 

 under parts dull white, with a collar of sharply defined narrow 

 brown streaks across the forepart and along the sides of the 

 breast; lores, and a superciliary line, whitish; tail feathers, 

 except the middle ones, dark brown; outer one white, second 

 white with the inner margin brown; outer primary edged with 

 white, and two dull whitish bands across the wings; bill and 

 feet yellow, the former brown above. 



Length, 6; wing, 3.85; tail. 2.50. 



Habitat, interior plains of North America. 



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