SMITH'S PAINTED LONGSPUR. 



MITH'S Painted Longspur 

 is usually considered a 

 rare bird in the middle 

 west, but a recent 

 observer found it very 

 common in the fields. He saw 

 twenty-five on October 3rd of last 

 year. They were associated with a 

 large flock of Lapland Longspurs. On 

 account of its general resemblance to 

 the latter species it is often overlooked. 

 It is found in the interior of North 

 America from the Arctic coast to 

 Illinois and Texas, breeding far north, 

 where it has a thick, fur-lined, grass 

 nest, set in moss on the ground. Like 

 the Lapland Longspur, it is only a 

 winter visitor. It is not so generally 

 distributed as that species, the migra 

 tions being wholly confined to the 

 open prairie districts. Painted Long- 

 spurs are generally found in large 

 flocks, and when once on the ground 

 begin to sport. They run very nimbly, 

 and when they arise utter a sharp 

 click, repeated several times in quick 

 succession, and move with an easy 

 undulating motion for a short distance, 

 when they alight very suddenly, seem 

 ing to fall perpendicularly several feet 

 to the ground. They prefer the roots 

 where the grass is shortest. When in 

 the air they fly in circles, to and fro, 

 for a few minutes, and then alight, 

 keeping up a constant chirping or 

 call. They seem to prefer the wet 

 portions of the prairie. In the breed 

 ing seasons the Longspur's song has 

 much of charm, and is uttered like the 



Skylark's while soaring. The Long- 

 spur is a ground feeder, and the mark 

 of his long hind claw, or spur, can 

 often be seen in the new snow. In 

 1888 the writer saw a considerable 

 flock of Painted Longspurs feeding 

 along the Niagara river near Fort 

 Brie, Canada. 



The usual number of eggs found in 

 a nest is four or five, and the nests, for 

 the most part, are built of fine dry 

 grasses, carefully arranged and lined 

 with down, feathers, or finer materials 

 similar to those of the outer portions. 

 They are sometimes sunk in an 

 excavation made by the birds, or in a 

 tuft of grass, and in one instance, 

 placed in the midst of a bed of Labra 

 dor tea. When the nest is approached, 

 the female quietly slips off, while the 

 male bird may be seen hopping or fly ing 

 from tree to tree in the neighborhood of 

 the nest and doing all he can to induce 

 intruders to withdraw from the neigh 

 borhood. The eggs have a light clay- 

 colored ground, marked with obscure 

 blotches of lavender and darker lines, 

 dots, and blotches of purplish brown. 

 The Longspur is a strong flier, and 

 seems to delight in breasting the 

 strongest gales, when all the other 

 birds appear to move with difficulty, 

 and to keep themselves concealed 

 among the grass. While the colors of 

 adult males are very different in the 

 Longspur family, the females have a 

 decided resemblance. The markings 

 of the male are faintly indicated, but 

 the black and buff are wanting. 



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