CHONDESTES GRAMMAOA. 469 



where it nested almost invariably in the small oak trees at heights varyino- 

 from 15 to 30 feet from the ground; while, on the other liand, in southern 

 Illinois, where the proportionate area of wood-land is much greater, we 

 never found a nest of this species except on the ground, notwithstanding 

 many nests were found.^ 



The principal characteristic of the Lark Sparrow is the excellence of 

 its song, which far surpasses that of any other member of the family we 

 have ever heard, while in sprightliness and continuity, qualities so often 

 lacking in our liuer singers, we do not know its equal in any bird. 

 We have not heard the song of the lamed Skylark (Alauda arvensis), but 

 from numerous descriptions imagine it to be somewhat similar in character 

 to that of the present bird ; and we very seriously doubt whether it is 

 superior, if, indeed, it should prove equal. The Lark Sparrow sings all day 

 long, even during the hottest part of summer, beginning in the eariy morn 

 before any other bird, and not ceasing until the darkening of the evening 

 shades have quieted the other songsters; often, in fact, have we been awak- 

 ened at night by its song when all else was quiet. The song of this bird 

 begins with a chant of clear, ringing notes, each uttered with great distinct- 

 ness ; then follows a silvery trill — the very expression of emotion — and then 

 a succession of sprightly, sparkling notes, varied by rising and falling 

 cadences, finally dying away until scarcely audible, but immediately resumed 

 in all its sprightliness and vigor, and continued as before, until the singer 

 seems actually exhausted by his efforts. 



At Sacramento this bird is known as the Mexican Lark; it was 

 familiar to all the boys, who in season eagerly searched for its nests in 

 order to obtain the young, which were readily sold in the city for $4.00 

 per pair. 



' Many other birds exhibit the same variability in the selection of a site for their 

 uests. A notoriously variable species is Garpodacus frontalis (see p. 459); and Zmwdura 

 carolinemis is another case in point, this species, in the same locality, nesting inditler- 

 ently on the ground, on the top of a stump or rock, on a flat fence-rail, in a tree, or on 

 the remnant of an old nest of another species. Mr. E. W. Nelson informs me tiiat he 

 found a nest of Pipilo erythrophthalmus in a bush, a foot or two from the ground, on Fox 

 Prairie, Illinois; while at Mt. Carmel, in the same State, we have found a nest of 

 Agclaus phcenicens in au elm tree, full 20 feet from the ground, and a nest of Gyannra 

 cristata inside of a barn. 



