650 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 23 7 part 2 



and varied in pitch from E" to B". Other songs range as high as 



"These studies were all made in a single morning, June 12, 1951, 

 in the vicinity of Crosby, N. Dak. Seven or eight male birds were 

 singing in a shrubby pasture, and two or three birds would be in the 

 air singing at almost any minute of the time. 



"I recorded one quite musical call-note of two syllables, that I 

 wrote: 'Wheetwer.' " 



J. E, and N. J. Stillwell (1955) recorded the songs of two lark bunt- 

 ings, one near Hugo, Lincoln County, Colo. (June 13, 1954) and the 

 second near Cimarron, Gray County, Kans. (June 14, 1954). They 

 report that the birds sang fully as well from fence posts as when on 

 the wing and they described the songs in the following terms : 



Boadly, the songs of the two Lark Buntings we recorded on tape, and of others 

 heard but not recorded, consisted of the random use of several distinct phrases, 

 with considerable variation in both the musical quality and pitches of the several 

 phrases. A phrase might consist of a trill, or a buzz, or one or two notes repeated 

 three to ten times. 



In all, we recorded 16 songs from the Lark Bunting near Hugo, and 10 from the 

 Cimarron bird. The Hugo bird averaged three to four phrases per song, and the 

 Cimarron bird averaged six to seven phrases per song. For both birds we were 

 able to recognize 11 different phrase types or patterns, although the repetitions 

 of a given phrase-type were not always exactly identical. 



The 11 phrase-types of these two Lark Buntings may be placed in four groups. 

 Group A contains three types, Cardinal-like and gliding in pitch: (1) a single- 

 note sweet, rising rapidly in pitch for about an octave, this note repeated four to 

 eight times; (2) a slurred double-note cher-wheat, rising in pitch, usually repeated 

 about three times; and (3) weeta, falling in pitch. Group B contains two types, 

 chat-like and unmusical: (4) chug repeated three or four times; and (5) chut, 

 repeated more rapidly, usually nine or ten times. Group C contains three types, 

 trills or buzzes; (6) a low-pitched buzz; (7) a junco-like trill; and (8) a high-pitched, 

 insect-like triU. Group D contains three types: (9) toot repeated four to twelve 

 times, quality clear and piping; (10) churt less clear and musical than type 9; 

 and (11) chew, rather Cardinal-like, but not conspicuously gliding in pitch as in 

 Group A. [For a description in tabular form of the use of these song types by 

 the two males the reader is referred to the original article by the Stillwells.] 



With three exceptions, both birds began each song with Tj'pe 1 phrase. Seven 

 of the 11 types (no. 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, and 10) were used by both birds. Type 5 

 was used only by the Hugo bird; and Types 3, 6, and 11 were used only by the 

 Cimarron bird. Type 4 was used eight times by the Cimarron bird as the second 

 phrase in his songs; and Type 9 was used eight times by the Hugo bird as the 

 second phrase in his songs. 



A typical song of the Hugo Lark Bunting might be written: sweet, sweet, sweet, 

 sweet, sweet, siveet: toot, toot, toot, toot, toot, toot: chug, chug, chug: tr-r-r-r-r-r-r. 



A typical song of the Cimarron bird would be: sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet: 

 chug, chug, chug, chug: tr-r-r-r-r-r-r: toot, toot, toot, toot, toot: buz-z-z-z-z: churt, 

 churt, churt. 



Zimmer (1913) describes the call note and song of the lark bunting 

 as follows: 



