496 HISTORY OF THE 



Iris brown; bill upper and tips of under dark horn blue, 

 rest sky blue; legs brown; feet and claws dark brown. 



I have often met with these characteristic birds in various 

 localities. December 14th, 1881, I had the pleasure of finding 

 a small flock in the Cohone valley, about twenty miles northeast 

 from San Diego, California the extreme western and almost 

 southwestern limits of their winter range. They have somewhat 

 the habits of the Larks, and the seasonable changes in color of 

 the Bobolink, the same ringing chink or call note, and, like 

 them, the males often warble from a bush or weed, and, in full 

 song, rise almost perpendicularly in the air and hover on tremu- 

 lous wings as they pour forth their sweet, lively, modulated 

 notes. They also gather together in flocks and rove about after 

 the breeding season in much the same manner, but more like the 

 Longspurs. 



They are strictly terrestial, and run nimbly about over the 

 ground in search of seeds, insects, etc. Prof. J. A. Allen, in 

 Doctor Cones' "Birds of the Northwest," says: 



"The Lark Bunting, though of rather local distribution and 

 limited range, must be regarded as one of the most characteristic 

 and interesting birds of the plains. Generally, in the breeding 

 season, a number of pairs are found in the same vicinity, while, 

 again, not an individual may be met with for many miles. At 

 other seasons it is eminently gregarious, roving about in consid- 

 erable flocks. In its song and the manner of its delivery it much 

 resembles the Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria mrens), like that bird 

 rising to a considerable distance in the air, and poising itself by 

 a peculiar flapping of the wings during its utterances, then ab- 

 ruptly descending to the ground, to soon repeat the manoeuver. 

 It is a very strong flyer, and seems to delight in the strongest 

 gales, singing more at such times than in comparatively quiet 

 weather. I met with several colonies not far from Fort Hays, 

 in June and July, and later at Cheyenne, Laramie, and in South 

 Park, and in the elevated, open table lands between South Park 

 and Colorado City. They were also frequent along the route 

 from Colorado City to Denver, sometimes considerable flocks 

 being met with. They were then moulting, and the parti-colored 



