AVofory.T s/>ragitei. 



176 NOHTH AMEIUCAN BJHDS. 



liiii. from tl.o earth's suifa.'... Aftor having travdhMl iu ,,uo.st of tliom to 

 no puriiose, to many .li.stant parts of the prairies, lie at last discovered tliat 



tliese sounds in'oeeedeil from si"\eral 

 nf these birds soaring at so great an 

 elevation as to make them diflieult to 

 dise( ver hy tiie eye, even in tlie trans- 

 parent atmosi)liere of tliat country. 



Tiiey are deseril)ed as rui.nin<' grace- 

 fully on the ground, at times sipiat- 

 tiug to oliserve the movements of the 

 intruders, and again elevating their 

 bodies as if to meet their a]iproacli 

 Jusmg from the groun.l, they lly in au undulating manner, so that it is 

 extremely ddlicult to shoot them on the wing. Thev continue thus to fly 

 m mcreasmg circles until nUnxi a hundred yards high, when they begin to 

 S'ug After a while, suddenly ch.sing tlieir wings, thev droj) to the gn.und 

 They could be easily a].proaehed in a light wagon, and in this manner 

 several specinuMis were obtained. 



Captain IJlakiston (Ibis, V. (II) found this Skylark c.mimon on the prairies 

 of the Saskatclu-wau during the breeding-season. He first met with it on 

 tlie (ith of May, near Fort Carlton. When disturbed from the gi^ass, its 

 usual haunt, it utters a single chirp, and immediately mounts iu the air by 

 a circuitous course, witli a very undulating flight, to a great height, where 

 with outstretched wings it soars in a i)eculiar manner," and utters a very 

 striking song. This is described as consi.sting of a (luick succession of 

 notes, iu a descending scale, each note being lower than the preceding. The 

 bird then descends to the ground with great rapidity, almost like a stone, 

 and somewliat in the manner of a hawk swooping on its prey. It Mas' 

 (hfiicult of approach, and not easily kille.l. He also observed thJse birds in 

 Nortiiern Minnesota, ^[ay 4, IS.")!). 



A nest of this bird was built on the ground and i)laced in a hollow. It 

 was made of fine grasses interwoven into a circular form, but without any 

 Iniing The eggs were four or five in iiuud)er, an ol)long oval iu shajK', much 

 pointed at one end, and nu'asuring .87 of an inch in length by .03 in breadth. 

 Their ground-.'olor was a dull white, ,so miimtely dotted with a grayi.sh- 

 ].uri)le as to give the whole egg a homogeneous appearance, as ^of' that 

 unil'orm color. 



The young larks, ,soon after being hatched, followed their i)arents on the 

 ground, and wen^ fed with .seeds of the smaller j.lants an<l with insects. 

 They had already begun to a.s.sociate in small floc^ks of from eight to a dozen 

 before tiio ].arty left, and on Ih,- IGth of Augu.st had commenced their 

 southern migrations. 



