104 



THE OOLOGI8T 



Delving through this lot of dirty 

 specimens brought down from the 

 attic, mixed with years of dirt, dust 

 and cobwebs, and with dozens of 

 cracked, broken and whole specimens 

 of the eggs of our commonest birds, 

 Robin, Woodthrush, Brownthrasher, 

 Catbird, etc., our eye was suddenly ar- 

 rested, if you can arrest your eyes in 

 a dream, by a grayish looking speci- 

 men about the size of a Kingfisher's 

 egg, but with a different shell texture, 

 and rather sharper pointed on one 

 end. Of course we had during all this 

 imaginary dream kept in mind this 

 very possibility. Carefully brushing 

 the dust .and dirt away from off the 

 egg, we turned the cleaner downward 

 side up and .there it was! Between 

 the two holes with which the egg had 

 been blown on that side, in indelible 

 black ink "Carolina Paroquet." 



The discovery was so startling that 

 we promptly awoke only to find that 

 the whole dream was true! That we 

 were actually the owner of this collec- 

 tion of eggs made by Richard B. 

 Christ, the well known Naturalist of 

 Nazareth, Pa. The co-laborer with 

 Audubon, Brewer, and many other of 

 the most noted Ornithologists of those 

 days. 



We trust that his son, the kindly 

 dream guide, Frank B. Christ, will 

 never regret turning this collection 

 over to us, for they will never be ped- 

 dled out for profit, and will ultimately 

 find lodgment (that is those that we 

 can use, about 800 specimens in addi- 

 tion to our present collection) in the 

 third largest natural History museum 

 in America. And we re illy believe 

 that we have performed a real service 

 in rescuing this splendid lot of rare 

 specimens from oblivion, decay and 

 destruction and placing them where 

 they will will be of scientific value to 

 the coming generations. 



We hope some such good luck dream 



will be the portion of each of our 

 readers. 



R. M. BARNES. 



THE SKY LARK 



The Sky Lark is one of the common 

 songbirds of southern Europe, and is 

 not known in America. Its manner of 

 ;iong has been the theme of poets as 

 well as a matter of comment by Orni- 

 thologists and nature lovers. Its song 

 is its greatest attraction as it is a dull 

 colored bird not easily seen while run- 

 ning over the ground, and in nowise 

 more conspicuous than any other 

 small bird while flying. With the pos- 

 sible exception of the Nightingale it 

 is the most renowned of songbirds, 

 and in my estimation it deserves to 

 rank as first of the songsters of 

 Europe. 



In 1851 the Skylark was introduced 

 into America in the vicinity of Cincin- 

 nati, and later on Long Island, but 

 they did not thrive and soon became 

 extinct. Our Horned Lark in its 

 many forms is its only American rel- 

 ative. 



It was my good fortune to become 

 acquainted with this bird while with 

 the American Expeditionary forces in 

 France and the Rhineland during the 

 winter and spring of 1919. It was in 

 the Department of Haute-Marne, near 

 the little village of -Rouvres sur-Aube, 

 during the month of January that I 

 began to notice the small flocks of 

 larks wheeling in the air after the 

 manner of our Horned Larks. The 

 routine of military life gave me but 

 little time for bird-study, but an en- 

 thusiastic observer will always be on 

 the alert for birds, though he is other- 

 Vv'i.se busily engaged. Therefore these 

 notes and observations were made at 

 random and are intended mainly to de- 

 pict the "Flight-song" habit of the 

 Skylark. 



It was early in February that I be- 

 gan to notice the vernal flight-song of 



