THE HORNED LARK. 11 



very early. Rev. Wm. Elgin, of Rochester, N. Y., a com- 

 petent observer, writes to me as follows: — ''On the 28th of 

 April, 1875, I discovered in the Park, near the lake at Buffalo, 

 the nest of a pair of Horned Larks, containing four young 

 birds which I took to be at least eight days old. I had 

 observed the parent birds in that locality early in the 

 month, and had been watching their movements ever since, 

 being convinced from their actions, when first noticed, that 

 they were nesting. But my search was not rewarded till 

 the day above named. When the parent birds were first 

 seen, the ground was bare, but about the 10th there fell 

 several inches of snow, which lay on the ground several 

 days, during which time the temperature frequently fell 

 almost to zero. Under these circumstances, it seemed to 

 me a marvel that any of the eggs hatched, since the bird 

 must have been sitting while the ground — and in fact her- 

 self — was covered with snow. Yet the nest was admirably 

 contrived for this w^eather, being placed in a small basin 

 scooped out of the level ground, and carefully lined with 

 fine dried grass, the top being on a level with the surface. 

 Such a case of nidification certainly argues a marked 

 degree of hardihood in the species. Another circumstance, 

 which fell under my observation, would tend also to con- 

 firm this opinion. On the 7th of April, 1878, near the 

 village of Wayne, Steuben County, I observed a female 

 Horned Lark feeding a pair of young in the road; the 

 young being so far matured as to be able to fly from the 

 road to the fence, a distance of fully three rods. In this 

 case the nest must have been begun early in March." 



These instances accord with the nests reported as found 

 near Racine, Wisconsin, while the snow was on the ground. 



On the 6th of April, 1880, as I was crossing a meadow a 

 few days after a snow-fall of some three or four inches, a 



