16 Bulletin No. 1 



ally found much farther west. It is a resident of Vermont, but in winter 

 is likely to be confounded with the horned lark, which then visits us from 

 the north, from which it may be distinguished by its slightly smaller size 

 and by the line over the eye being slightly yellow. 



The bird inhabits open meadows and pastures, seldom perching on 

 trees, though often alighting on fences and wires. The lark raises two or 

 three broods, nesting often in March before the snow is entirely gone. 

 A member of the Club from Poultney, found a nest in March, but the 

 writer's efforts to do so were unsuccessful. 



The finding of two nests of this species are described, the first on 

 April 7, a difficult task on account of the wariness of the female which 

 slipping off the nest and running fifteen or twenty yards, would then 

 take wing at a distance of 75 yards from the intruder. It was only by- 

 hiding and watching the bird that the nest was finally located. The nest 

 was placed in a small natural cavity at the foot of a tuft of grass, flush 

 with the surface of the ground, made of dry grasses compactly woven 

 together, outside dimensions 3% by 3% inches, cavity 3 by 2% inches, and 

 two inches deep. The eggs were four in number, a light grayish brown, 

 finely and closely spotted with darker, partly incubated. 



The second nest, containing three eggs, was found a few days later. 

 The same difficulty in locating it was experienced, although the birds were 

 not so shy. The male was flushed between the searchers and the nest, 

 the female when they were about six feet from the nest. During the ex- 

 amination of the nests in both cases, the males hovered near singing, 

 while the females fed quietly at a distance. The writer visited these 

 nests frequently but both were destroyed before the young were ready to 

 leave the nest, probably by some animal. 



The second find was a nest of the goshawk, accipitcr atn'capillus, 

 in Mendon, April 23,. A pair of this species had been noticed in this 

 vicinity during the preceding winter but they were thought to be simply 

 winter visitants. On the above date the writer made a search which re- 

 sulted in finding the nest placed in a birch tree 25 feet from the ground, 

 loosely constructed of sticks. It was about 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet 

 from top to bottom. The eggs, four in number, were apparently unspotted. 

 The female made a great outcry, swooping at times within a few feet of 

 the climber's head, while the male remained quiet at a distance. The cry 

 was a sharp two-syllabled utterance, something like the note of the red- 

 shouldered hawk. 



