THE WILSON QUARTERLY. 59 



well started. The down does not at once disappear, but 

 persists after the feathers are well grown, sticking out be- 

 tween them in little tufts, giving the young bird a very 

 comical appearance. Not longer than fifteen days after 

 hatching, the young leave the nest and begin to ''dig" for 

 themselves. 



It is exceedingly difficult to trace the life history of the 

 larks after the nest is deserted. All that I have been able 

 to discover is that in a remarkablj^ short time the young 

 become able to catch insects for themselves ; when the old 

 birds at once begin building another nest. 



Not until late in August, after the birds of the last brood 

 are well grown, is there a time for rest. Then the moult 

 begins, and the birds seem to disappear. 



THE AVI-FAUNA OF BROOME COUNTY, N. Y. 



BY WILLARD N. CLUTE, BINGHAMPTON, N. Y. 



In presenting the following list of the birds of Broome 

 County, N. Y., it ma}^ be well to add a few notes on the 

 position and topography of the section under review. Broome 

 is one of the counties forming the " Southern Tier" of the 

 State, and is situated near the centre of this tier. Its south- 

 ern boundary is the state line — parallel 42°. There are 

 no mountains in the county, the highest points being about 

 1700 feet above sea-level. It is watered by the Susquehanna 

 and Chenango rivers and several minor streams. As there 

 are no lakes or ponds of any size, we have but few water- 

 birds. The chief waterwa}'' of the county —the Susquehanna 

 — which, in part of its course, forms a natural highway for 

 the migratory birds, here flows east and west, and many of 

 the rare migrants have, doubtless, left it for a more direct 

 route northward. The list given herewith is the result of 

 six years' observations and makes no pretentions to com- 

 pleteness. The nomenclature is that of the American Or- 

 nithologists' Union. Except in a few instances, I have 

 given the common name by which the bird is best known 

 in the county, 



1. Urinator iinber. Loon. —Occasional migrant. 



