86 



NATURAL HISTORY OF VERMONT. 



Part I. 



THE BROWN I.ARK. 



GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 



THE SNOW BUNTING. 



agreeable warble is heard from March together in the fall and migrate in large 

 till October. flocks. 



Genus Anthcs. — Linnceus. 

 Generic Characters. — Bill straight, slender, 

 cylindric, and subulate towards the point, wilh 

 edges somewhat inflected towards the middle, and 

 at the base destitute of bristles; the base of the 

 upper mandible carinated, wilh the pom! slightly 

 notched and declinini;. Nostrils basal, lateral, 

 iialf closed by a membrane. Feet slender ; tarsus 

 longer than (he middle toe; inner toe free ; hind 

 toe shortest, wilh the nail generally long and near- 

 ly straight ; wings moderate ; three first primaries 

 longest; secondaries notched at the tip; two of 

 the scajiulars nearly equal to the longest prima- 

 ries ; tail rather long and eniarginate. 



THE BROWN LARK. 



Anthus spinoletta. — Bonap. 



Description. — Grayish brown above, 

 with a darker shade in the centre of each 

 feather ; beneath and line over the eye, 

 white; breast and flanks spotted with 

 graj'isii brown, or blackish ; tail feathers 

 nearly black, the outer one half white, 

 upon the 2d and often upon the 3d, a co- 

 nic white spot ; lower mandible straight 

 and livid, the upper blackish ; legs chest- 

 nut ; iris hazel. Female more spotted be- 

 low. Yountr dark brown, inclining to ol- 

 ive ; strongly s|)otted on the beast. — J\"utt. 



History. — The Brown Lark is met 

 with in every part of the United States as 

 a bird of passage. It feeds upon insects 

 and seeds, and may often be seen run- 

 ning along the margin of ponds and 

 streains, and in old fields in pursuit of 

 these. It was found by Audubon breed- 

 ing abundantly on the coast of Labrador, 

 and Dr. Brewer obtained its eggs from 

 Coventry, (now Orleans), in this state. 

 The nest is placed at the foot of a wall or 

 rock, curiously formed of bent grass, and 

 partly buried in dark mould. The eggs 

 are usually 6. Their ground color is a 

 deep reddish chestnut, darkened by nu- 

 merous dots, and various lines of reddish 

 brown. This bird is also called the Amer- 

 ican Petit, or Titlark. 



GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 



The Birds of this order have a strong, 

 short, thick, and more or less conic bill, 

 which extends back upon the forehead. 

 The ridge of tlie upper mandible is usual- 

 ly somewhat flattened, and both portions 

 of the bill are generally without the tooth- 

 ed notch. The feet are arranged with 3 

 toes before and 1 behind. The wings are 

 of moderate dimensions. These birds 

 spend the summer in pairs, but assemble 



Genus Emberiza. — Linnmus. 

 Generic Characters. — Bill short, robust, 

 conic, somewhat compressed, and without notch; 

 the margins contracted inward, a little angular to- 

 wards the base ; the upper mandible rounded 

 above, acute, smaller and narrower than the low- 

 er ; the ])alate with a longitudinal bony tubercle ; 

 the lower mandible rounded beneath, and very 

 acute. Nostrils basal, small, partly covered by the 

 feathers of the forehead. Tarsus about equal to 

 the middle toe ; the lateral toes equal ; outer uni- 

 ted at the base lo the middle loe. Winns with the 

 1st primary almost equal to the 2d and 3d, which 

 are longest. Tail even or einarginaie. 



THE SNOW BUNTING. 



Emberiza nivalis. — Linn.?; us. 



PlecLrophancs nivalis. — And. Am. Birds, III — 55 

 pi. 155. 



Description. — Male, in winter, with 

 the head, neck, lower parts, a great pro- 

 portion of the wings, including the small- 

 er coverts, secondary covm-ts, several se- 

 condary quills, the bases of the primaries 

 and their coverts, and the greater part of 

 the outer tail feathers on each side, white ; 

 the head and hind neck more or less ting- 

 ed with brownish red ; the upper parts 

 reddish gray, or yellowish red mottled 

 with black, the concealed part of tlie plu- 

 mage being of tlie latter color ; tlie bill 

 brownish yellow. Female, in the winter, 

 with the white less extended. Young, at 

 this season, like the female, but browner. 

 Male, in summer, with the back, scapu- 

 lars, inner secondaries, terminal portion 

 of the primaries, and 4 middle tail feath- 

 ers deep black ; all the other parts pure 

 white ; bill black. Female with the black 

 parts tinged with brown, and more or less 

 reddish brown on the head and rump. 

 Length 7; spread 13. — Audubon. 



History. — The Snow Buntings spend 

 the great part of the year in high northern 

 latitudes. They breed, according to Dr. 

 Richardson, in the most northerly part of 

 the continent, and on the islands of the 

 arctic ocean. The nest is made of dry 

 grass in the crevices of rocks, and lined 

 with deer's hair and feathers. The eggs 

 are greenish white, spotted and blotched 

 with umber. They usually make their 

 appearance in Vermont in December, in 

 the midst of storms of snow. They ar- 

 rive in flocks, frequently in company with 

 the Tree Sparrow and Blue Snow Bird, 

 and, in descending upon our gardens and 

 fields, to collect their scanty pittance of 

 seeds from the dry weeds which rise above 

 the snow, they always come down in a 



