64 NORTH AMKRICAN J5IHDS. 



of tliis s]»oci('S is iilti\notlior of a (lilffiviit chamctcr, boiiig a low gliding mo- 

 tion, ovcrtojiping tlie weeds and lui.slies. Tiiat the birds were nesting at tliis 

 time is rendered still more jirobuljle by the fact that the males noticed as we 

 passed along were out of all projiortion, in numbers, to the females seen, 

 Tiiey were very heedless of api)roacli, and any number could have been 

 readily destroyed. I never saw any at Fort Whipple, or elsewhere in Ari- 

 zona, though Dr. Heermann says that they are abundant in the southern 

 portions of the Territory, and si)ecimens are recorded I'rom Lower Califor- 

 nia." 



Mr. Allen found the Lark Hunting one of the few birds that seemed 

 strictly confined to tlie arid plains near Fort H^ys, in Kansas, lie met witli 

 it in great abundance, but only on tlie high ridges and dry jdateau.s, where 

 they seemed to live in colonies. He describes them as very waiy, and very 

 tenacious of life, often Hying long distances, even after having been mortally 

 wounded. They seemed to delight to fly in strong winds, when most other 

 birds kept in shelter. Tliey sing while on the wing, hovering in the wind 

 and shaking the tail and legs alter the well-known manner of the Yellow- 

 breasted Chat. Its song seemed to him to strongly resemble that of the 

 Chat, with which, at sucli times, its whole demeanor strikingly accorded. 



Dr. Heermann, in liis Iieport on the birds collected in the survey on the 

 o'2d jiarallel, states tliat lie first observed these birds on approaching the 

 Pimos villages. Tliey were associateil with large flocks of S23arrows, glean- 

 ing grain and grass-seed upon the ground. When started up they flew but 

 a short distance before they resumed their occupation. After crossing the 

 San Pedro lie again found them in large flocks. At Fort Fillmore, in ^le- 

 silla Valley, it was also (piite common and associated with the Cowbird and 

 Pdackbird, searching for grain among the .stable offals. Ho again met with 

 them in Texas, in the month of April, most of them still retaining their 

 winter coat. He describes the tremulous fluttering motion of the wings with 

 which tlie male accompanies its song while on the wing as very nnich after 

 the manner of the Piobolink, and he speaks of their song as a disconnected 

 but not an unmusical chant. He fuund their nests on tlie ground, made of 

 fine grasses, lined with hair, and in one instance he found tiie eggs spotted 

 with faint red dashes. 



At Cilmer, in Wyoming Territory, their nests were found by Mr. Durkee 

 built on the ground, and composed of dry grasses very loosely arranged. 

 The eggs, four or five in number, are of a uniform and beautiliil light shade 

 of blue, similar to those of the EHspisa amcricarm. They measure .90 by 

 .70 of an inch, are of a rounded-oval shape, and, so far as I have observed, 

 are entirely unspotted, although eggs with a few reddish blotches are said to 

 have been met with. 



