260 NOTES ON THE 
The song cannot be expressed by any similation of words or 
syllables, but is totally unlike any other amongst the song- 
birds. With such a possibility within the reach of any song- 
loving mortal, who would spend the last dime to hear a Nilsson, 
and would not goamile in the open, silent prairie, to hear 
this peerless skylark? I pronounce an inexplainable paradox. 
Heaven’s richest boon to esthetic man are oftenest over- 
looked or underheard. Awake, dear sleepers! 
Note. The foregoing was written in 1874, at which time I 
was not aware that anyone else had ever recorded observations 
of its skylark like performances. I have been greatly de- 
lighted to find that Langille has given a graphic description of 
them in his ‘‘Birds in Their Haunts,” page 18. 
SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 
r; Above, pinkish-brown, feathers of back streaked with dusky; 
a broad band across the crown extending backwards along the 
lateral tufts; a crescentic patch from bill below the eye, and 
along the side of the head; a jugular crescent, and the tail 
feathers black, the innermost of the latter like the back; a 
frontal band extending backwards over the eye, under parts, 
with outer edge of wings, and tail, white; chin and throat, 
yellow. 
Length, 7.75; wing, 4.50; tail, 3.25; bill, above, 0.52. 
Habitat, northeastern North America. 
Family CORVID_4. 
PICA PICA HUDSONICA (SapBine).  (475.) 
AMERICAN MAGPIE. 
The Magpie has not yet become as common as the Blue Jay 
in Minnesota, but they are here and no check list can leave 
them out. Since the first that came under my notice in 1869, 
which was obtained in the timber of the Minnesota river 
bottom, there have been but few seasons when they were not 
seen by those competent to identify them, and several have 
been obtained. 
Mr. Washburn reported one at Mille Lacs lake last fall, and 
several were described to me by parties who had never seen 
them before. 
That this rather rare species should have escaped the notice 
of early observers is by no means surprising, for when isolated 
from the flock individual birds of this species are as alert and 
cunning as any other with which I ever had anything to do. 
