Horned Larks in the Province of Queuec 133 



quiet and their silence is pronounced when the young have 

 left the nest. I have often watched one slipping away with 

 an exaggerated slowness, proclaiming uneasiness by ner- 

 vously picking at the soil, possibly with the pretense of feed- 

 ing. Even with these indications it is not always easy to 

 pick out the old-grass coloured backs of the young squatting 

 motionless by some grass tuft. 



A great deal has been written in confirmation of the theory 

 that the Prairie Horned Lark has gradually extended its 

 range eastward from the prairies. In any case it is not par- 

 tial to thickly wooded or newdy cleared land. In such a lo- 

 cality at Bury, Compton Co., Que., 125 miles, S. E. E. of Mon- 

 treal, it was uncommon during the years 1899-1902. To the 

 north, in the Laurentian Hills, I have seen it sparingly in the 

 cleared valleys of the North, Rouge, and Lievre Rivers, as 

 far as yit. Laurier, at the end of the railroad, about 150 miles 

 N. N. W. of Montreal. My observations, however, partic- 

 ularly with regard to nesting habits, refer to the valley of 

 the St. Lawrence River, in the vicinity of Montreal. Here 

 they are most abundant within a mile or two of the river 

 shore. For nesting purposes, rolling pasture land with scant 

 vegetation is preferred ; often so poor as to produce only 

 a growth of mosses and lichens. A sheep pasture is typical 

 of the Lark's choice. Again they will be found associating 

 with the Killdeer Plover, nesting in a stony field, or in one 

 in which there is exposed rock strata. Sometimes other sit- 

 uations are chosen, such as the close cut stubble of grain 

 fields, and once a nest was found in the furrow of a ploughed 

 field. 



As with other prairie nesting birds, suitability as a lookout 

 point is a factor in the Lark's choice of a nesting site ; an 

 abrupt slope is never chosen. Cultivated fields in the vicinity 

 of the nest are desired as the Lark feeds largely in ploughed 

 land — in fact I have found it nesting most commonly within 

 a few hundred yards of farm buildings ; the neighborhood of 

 woods and swamps is avoided. 



The srreater number of birds commence nesting during the 



