The Wilson Bulletin— No. 46. ,9 



*92. Merula migratoria. Robin. Quite common Rather common 

 •on the bare top of Squam Range. 



*93. Sialia sialis. Bluebird. Common. 



9i. Passer domesticus. English Sparrow. A few around some of the 

 farm houses. 



THE LARKS OF GERMANY. 



W. F. HENNINGER. 



Characteristic of the Earks is the bill, longer than that of the 

 finches and buntings, longer and broader wings, and the earth- 

 colored plumage, commonly called "lark gray." Only three 

 species are ordinarily found in Germany, the others being lit- 

 tle more than mere stragglers. Largest of these is the Crested 

 or Tufted Lark, easily recognized by its conspicuous crest, 

 then the far-famed Skylark, well known to all, and the small- 

 est, the Woodlark, distinguished from the others by its size 

 and the white wing-bands or spots. 



A little home-body is the Tufted Lark. The dusty roadside, 

 fence-posts, deserted wagons and ploughs, stone walls, and 

 roofs are her home, where we can listen to her low, but not 

 uninteresting song, or see her skipping through the air with 

 lisping notes or running to and fro with raised hood, as she 

 snatches up an insect or a grain. Having entered Germany 

 but lately, she has become familiar in many a region. She 

 loves the slopes of the mountains, the grain-fields, and is more 

 common in sandy places than her cousins. There she makes 

 her nest on the ground in the fields, meadows and gardens ; 

 four to six eggs it holds, white or cream-colored, with gray 

 and brownish spots. Both parents brood and take care of the 

 young in turn, looking for their food. Even winter's chills do 

 not drive them away. They run ahead of us in the streets 

 with Yellowhammers and Sparrows, or visit our back yards 

 and barns to look for offal, dungheaps, spilled grain and simi- 

 lar tid-bits, being very tame and modest, easily contented at 

 all times, liked by young and old for their confidence in man, 

 till spring comes and the humble creature is forgotten for her 

 more brilliantly singing relatives. 



In golden splendor the morning sun appears on the eastern 

 horizon, still tinted with the rosy hue of early dawn, like mil- 



