COUES ON BIRDS OP DAKOTA AND MONTANA. 561 



to find tbe Skylarks equally abundant; for this was the spot where the 

 original victim fell to Audubon's — ratber, I understand, to Mr. Isaac 

 Sprague's — gnu. But in tbis I was disappointed, for in tbe wbole region 

 up to the mouth of tbe Milk River, I only noticed perhaps a few hun- 

 dred, and, to my surprise, not a single bird of the kind did I see any- 

 where along the line of miircb through the Milk River country, until I 

 came to the headwaters of that river, two or three days' journey from tbe 

 Rocky Mountains, where, on the 13th of August, a single specimen was 

 secured. There is nothing in tbe general range of the species to account 

 for this, since the bird, as Mr. Allen has informed us, is common in the 

 Yellowstone region; it must be attributed to some peculiarity of local 

 distribution, or fortuitous default of observation. 



Tbe general habits and manners of these birds are very much like 

 those of their nearest allies, the Titlarks. During the breeding-season, 

 as usual, it is dispersed in pairs over the country ; but, like many other 

 prairie birds, it has its predilection for certain spots, especially in the 

 vicinity of tbe streams, where many pairs gather in straggling companies, 

 and loose troops are seen together as soon as the first broods are on wing. 

 Such semi-communism is a conspicuous trait of many species not strictly 

 gregarious; but in the present case, after the duties of incubation are 

 entirely finished, larger flocks, acting upon the same impulses, are fre- 

 quently observed. Were it not for their great abundance, there would 

 be some trouble in securing large numbers, for there are few birds more 

 difficult to shoot upon the wing, while their colors, assimilating with 

 the rusty herbage of the prairie, effectually conceal them when on the 

 ground. When startled, they rise with a rapid, wayward flight, which 

 often defies the most expert marksman. Their ordinary hovering flight, 

 again, though not rapid, is of the peculiarly devious, desultory, and 

 jerky character which renders a sure aim almost impossible, just as it is 

 in the case of a bat, for instance; the instantaneous snap shot, which is 

 one of tbe prettiest exhibitions of a sportsman's acquired instincts, is 

 alone likely to be successful. After thus hovering on wing for a time, 

 during which the lisping, plaintive note is continually uttered, tbe birds 

 are wont to pitch suddenly down to the ground again, often upon the 

 very spot whence they arose, and are then immediately lost to view, 

 even among tbe scantiest herbage of the prairie. On the ground, as on 

 tbe wing, their actions are precisely like those of Titlarks: they never 

 hop with both feet, like most kinds of Sparrows, but run with one foot 

 after the other, tripping along with mincing steps, and continually vibrat- 

 ing the tail, which seems as if jointed with an elastic hinge. They 

 have a fancy for frequenting the wagon-roads which cross tbe boundless 

 expanse of prairie, perhaps finding the worn ruts smoother and easier 

 to walk upon, perhaps attracted by insects which the disturbance of the 

 surface exposes, or by the droppings of the draught animals which have 

 passed along. 



But the most interesting portion of the natural history of these birds 

 Bull. iv. Ko. 3 2 



