88 N£STS AND EGGS OF BIRDS. 



Audubon's channinsj^ account of its home-lite cannot be im- 

 proved, and has been well confirmed : 



" The sliore-lark breeds on tlie high and desolate tracts of Labrador, 

 in the vicinitj'of the sea. The face of the country appears as if formed 

 of one undulated expanse of dark granite, covered with mosses and 

 lichens, varying in size and color; some green, others as white as snow, 

 and others again of every tint, and disposed in large patches or tufts. 

 It is on the latter that the lark places her nest, which is disposed with 

 so much care, while the moss so resembles the bird in hue. that, unless 

 vou almost tread upon her as she sits, she seems to feel secure, and 

 remains unmoved. Should you. however, approach so near, she flut- 

 ters awav, feigning lameness so cunningly that none but one accustomed 

 to the sight can refrain from pursuing her. The male immediately 

 joins her in mimic wretchedness, uttering a note so soft and plaintive 

 that it requires a strong stimulation to force the natiualist to rob the 

 poor birds of their treasure. 



The nest, which is embedded in the moss to its edges, is composed of 

 fine grasses, circularly disposed, and forming a bed about two inches 

 thick, with a lining of grouse-feathers and those of other birds. In the 

 beginning of July, the eggs are deposited. They are four or five in num- 

 ber, large, grayish, and covered with numerous pale-blue and brown 

 spots. The young leave the nest before they are able to fly, and follow 

 their parents over the moss, where they are fed about a week. They 

 rim nimbly, emit a %oit prep, and squat closely at the first appearance 

 of danger. If observed and pursued. the\' open their wings to aid them 

 in their escape, and, separating, make off with great celerity. On such 

 occasions, it is difficult to secure more than one of them, unless several 

 persons be present, when each can pursue a bird. The parents, all this 

 time, are following the enemy overhead, lamenting the danger to which 

 their young are exposed. In several instances, the old bird followed us 

 almost to our boat, alighting occasionally on a projecting crag before us 

 and entreating us, as it were, to restore its offspring. By the first of 

 August, man}- of the young are fully fledged, and the difterent broods 

 are seen associating together, to the number of forty, fifty, or more." 



Tlic alpcstris lonn also breeds about Hamilton, C \\'.. and 

 in western and central New York, of which several instances 

 have lately come to li<^ht. (See Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club. Ill, 54.) 



Thus much for the species in the northeast. In the west and 

 southwest differences of climate, etc., have produced changes of 

 plumage which separate the shore larks there into two geo 



