Birds of Indiana. 985 



vicinity on the ground, and some were elevated on bushes as much as 

 six feet. Prof. Cook says, in Michigan, they usually nest on bushes. 

 In Lake County, Ind., Mr. L. T. Meyer notes that they nest upon the 

 ground. The same conditions that operate upon the Grasshopper 

 Sparrow act upon the Dickcissel. The different times of mowing the 

 clover and timothy crops and of. cutting the small grain result in 

 driving them a.nd the insects from the land, as they are left neither 

 shelter nor their usual food. Notwithstanding these discouragements, 

 they continue common, and our people are beginning to recognize in 

 them good friends. 



Mr. W. 0. Wallace has taken a nest and four eggs in Wabash 

 County as early as May 18, 1894, and Mr. T. L. Hankinson took a 

 nest and four eggs at Agricultural College, Mich., June 18, 1896. 

 Their song is a peculiar one, uttered from fence, bush, tree or tall 

 weed, from early morning till evening. It is said to suggest the 

 syllables see, see — Did', DicJc-cissel, cissel. Dr. Coues would interpret 

 it: hole! look! see me here! see! But it comes to me characteristi- 

 cally as five metallic sounds — something like the noise made by drop- 

 ping six silver dollars, one upon the other, into one's hand: clerik, 

 cletik, clenk-clenh-denk. They keep singing until late July or early 

 August, and then the song and the singer vanish together. Many were 

 heard singing August 3, 1897. iVugust 6 there were but few, and 

 neither song nor bird were noted after that date. In 1896 they were 

 last reported from Bicknell, August 36 (Chansler). 



Prof. S. A. Forbes, in writing of an orchard infested with canker- 

 worms, says: "Another valuable species was the Black-throated Bunt- 

 ing, Spiza americana. This confined itself less strictly to the (canker) 

 worms for food than the foregoing (Cedar bird), but was much more 

 abundant and was nesting in the orchard. Eleven birds were exam- 

 ined, and eight of them were found to have eaten canker-worms, 

 which made about half the total food of the whole number. Cater- 

 pillars are usually eaten in May by the Black-throated Bunting, in the 

 ratio of about 20 per cent., while they made 70 per cent, of the food 

 of those shot among the canker-worms" (Rept. Mich. Hort. Soc, 

 1881, p. 204). They live largely upon grasshopiaers and other meadow 

 insects, eating also seeds. 



