SPRING AT THE CAPITAL. 147 



About the first of June, I saw numbers of buzzards 

 sailing around over the great Falls of the Potomac. 



A glimpse of the birds usually found here in the 

 latter part of winter may be had in the following 

 extract, which I take from my diary under date of Feb- 

 ruary 4th : — 



" Made a long excursion through the woods and over 

 the hills. Went directly north from the Capitol for 

 about three miles. The ground bare and the day cold 

 and sharp. In the suburbs, among the scattered Irish 

 and negro shanties, came suddenly upon a flock of 

 birds, feeding about like our Northern snow-buntings. 

 Every now and then they uttered a piping, disconso- 

 late note, as if they had a very sorry time of it. They 

 proved to be shore-larks, the first I had ever seen. 

 They had the walk characteristic of all larks ; were a 

 little larger than the sparrow ; had a black spot on the 

 breast, with much white on the under parts of their 

 bodies. As I approached them the nearer ones 

 paused, and, half squatting, eyed me suspiciously. 

 Presently, at a movement of my arm, away they went, 

 flying exactly like the snow-bunting, and showing 

 nearly as much white." (I have since discovered that 

 the shore-lark is a regular visitant here in February 

 and March, when large quantities of them are shot or 

 trapped, and exposed for sale in the market. During 

 a heavy snow I have seen numbers of them feeding 

 upon the seeds of various weedy growths in a large 

 market-garden well into town.) " Pressing on, the walk 



