LARK BUNTING 649 



wire fences. The birds were, however, sitting close to the posts and 

 on the side opposite to the sun," 



Although some observers have reported that the lark bunting is shy 

 and difficult to approach, this appears to be more characteristic of 

 the bird on its wintering grounds than on its breeding grounds. 

 Thus, Coues (quoted in Bau'd, Brewer, and Ridgway, 1874b) wrote 

 that the lark buntings "were very heedless of approach, and any 

 number could have been destroyed." Similarly, Langdon (1933) 

 says that in his experience the lark bunting is friendly but not in- 

 timate with man, and that he has had the bird sit on his car while 

 he was in it. On the other hand, Allen (1872) found the lark bunting 

 to be exceeding shy and difficult to collect during the breeding season. 



In general during the spring migration and breeding season, when 

 approached by a human being, the lark bunting rises up from the 

 prairie and bursts into song. The same response is elicted by the 

 approach of automobiles on the highway or railway trains. However, 

 on its wintering grounds the lark bunting is a less amiable and sociable 

 bird. Thus Dille (1935) writes: "No bird has yet fooled me so 

 completely as did the winter flocks of this old friend of my Colorado 

 and Nebraska experience. If there is one bird on its northern nesting 

 ground that I have known longer than any other it is the Lark Bunting. 

 But what were these birds in this nervous, closely packed, quickly 

 startfing moving flock, acting just Uke a flock of wild scaled quail? 

 There were no males of fuU colors in the bunch, which did not help 

 my recognition. * * * How they must tame down during their 

 tedious journey northward, for when they arrive with us in Colorado 

 and take location, they are very sociable, and full of song." 



These observations are in accord with those Coale (1894), who 

 reported from the Tucson, Ariz., area that in the winter "these birds 

 were on the ground in immense flocks, thousands I should judge, and 

 were quite hard to approach. They kept running and flying over 

 each other, always keeping well ahead of me." 



Voice. — A. A. Saunders (MS.) has contributed the following study 

 of this subject: "The lark bunting is commonly a flight singer. The 

 bird flies up into the air, then wheels about and floats back to the 

 ground, singing and circling around as it does so. In a way it resem- 

 bles the song flights of longspurs, but the wings are not held at the 

 same angle, and the longspur flight is straight and not circling. 



"The song is a long mixture of series of short notes, two-note phrases 

 or slurs. It is quite musical and pleasing, but of a peculiar quality 

 that seemed to me indescribable. Consonant sounds are prominent. 

 I wrote the phonetics of one song as follows: kazee kazee kazee kazee 

 zizizizizi to kayeekayeekayeekayee trrrrrrrrrr tee to wewewewewe tur tur 

 tur tur quit quit quit quit quit quit quit. This song lasted eight seconds, 



