654 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 23 7 tart 2 



hawk rose in the calm air and flapped after the now distant bunting. With steady- 

 beats of her long wings she appeared to be making but slow progress, whereas, 

 in reality, her speed was more than double that of the fugitive, and she soon 

 overtook it. When, as it appeared to me, about a yard above her quarry, the hawk 

 made a sudden dash to seize the bunting in her claws, which the latter cleverly 

 evaded and then flew off in a different direction. Being assailed only by a clumsy 

 buzzard, which could not "throw up" like a falcon, the little bird escaped rejoicing, 

 although by a narrow margin. 



According to Webster (1944) the lark bunting is also preyed upon 

 by the prairie falcon. 



Economic status. — While it is with us on its breeding grounds there 

 is no doubt that the lark bunting is a beneficial species. The insects 

 it eats (particularly grasshoppers) are of harmful species, or of species 

 of little or no value. Most of its vegetable food consists of weed 

 seeds, or seeds of useless plants. There is less information available 

 as to the food taken during its migration to the south, but Mrs. BaUey 

 (1928) has said that on "isolated ranches, the Lark Buntings sometimes 

 do serious injury to the grain crops in passing, especially in seasons 

 when desert grass seed is scarce, but it is believed that when the coun- 

 try settles up the loss to individuals wUl be negligible, and the destruc- 

 tion of weed seed and injurious insects is important." Similarly, 

 Langdon (1933) quotes the conclusions of the Bureau of Biological 

 Survey: "In summer, therefore, under normal conditions in most 

 localities of its range, the Lark Bunting should be regarded as a highly 

 beneficial bird." 



Fall. — As the mating and nesting season draws to an end the male 

 lark bunting loses his dark splendor and stills his glorious song, be- 

 coming a quiet, sparrowlike imitation of the female. Like the bobo- 

 link the buntings gather in flocks of ever-increasing size, which rise 

 and wheel in unison across the prairies, stopping now and then to 

 feed in grassy places, weed patches, or grain fields. According to 

 Wood (1923) on the prairies of North Dakota during this time occas- 

 ional large flocks of adults and young may be seen feeding about ranch 

 buUdings like house sparrows. 



The lark bunting is a fairly early migrant. According to W. W. 

 Cooke (1914), the first migrants reached Brownsville, Tex., on 

 July 27, 1881 . More commonly the southward migration begins in late 

 July or early August but, as in the spring migration, proceeds so 

 slowly that the stragglers are still in New Mexico during the last 

 week of October. The fall migration is started and is occasionally 

 finished before the annual molt is accompUshed; some young birds 

 arrive at the northern edge of their winter range while still in juvenal 

 plumage, and many adults are still molting when the first migrants 

 arrive. Thus, Mrs. Bailey (1928) writes of the migrants arriving in 

 New Mexico: 



