May, 1884.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



59 



The Lark Finch ( Chondestes grammica, 

 Bonap.) A very common species on the 

 West Yegua is the Lark Finch, and I ob- 

 served it to be in this neighborhood even 

 more numerous than the Song Sparrow in 

 Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. It 

 seems to me that these birds are for this 

 locality in every respect the representa- 

 tives of the familiar Song Sj:>arrow of the 

 Northern States. Near houses, in gar- 

 dens and fields, on the edges of woods, in 

 thickets, on the prairies and along rail 

 fences and other similar situations this is 

 an abundant bird. It arrives from the 

 South early in April and departs in large 

 numbers for its winter quarters in the last 

 part of September. Nestbuilding takes 

 place from the beginning of May and con- 

 tinues to the middle and latter part of 

 June. Two broods are raised every year. 

 The nest is built on trees, in the corners 

 of rail fences, on the ground and some- 

 times in bushes. One nest I found in the 

 cavity of an old tree. The Lark Finch, 

 like Melospiza meloda, Baird, prefers to 

 nest in close proximity to human dwell- 

 ings and especially they like to construct 

 their nests on a horizontal branch of a 

 mulberry tree. The nests I found on trees 

 and in the corners of fences were built 

 exteriorly of the sticks of the downy 

 Gossypianthus tomentosus, some other 

 plant stems and dry grasses, and are lined 

 with horsehairs. All these nests have the 

 appearance of Song Sparrow nests. The 

 nests built on the gound are very different 

 from those just described. They are built 

 in a slight depression of the ground from 

 grasses and a few slender weed-stalks, and 

 are lined with fine rootlets and a few 

 horsehairs. If the nest is on the ground, 

 cotton or cornfields are commonly chosen 

 for the site of the same. The latter nests 

 have very thin walls, whilst those in trees, 

 etc., are very strong and bulky. The 

 eggs, usually five in number, have a beau- 

 tiful crystalline white ground color and 

 are curiously streaked with zigzag lines 



and some blotches and spots of dark 

 brown on the larger end. Some spots are 

 to be found on the entire egg. These 

 heavy brown markings are easily to be 

 rubbed off with water, so that only a light 

 reddish-brown color remains. The song 

 of this bird is varied, continuous and very 

 sweet, yet not clear and thoroughly fine as 

 the shorter song of the Song Sparrow or 

 the very sweet song of the White-throated 

 Sparrow (Zonotrichia alblcollis, Bonap.) 

 and the Fox-colored Sparrow (Passerella 

 iliaca.) — //. JVehrlitiff, Fedor, Lee Co., 

 Texas. 



Birds of the " Panhandle," W. Va. 



THE JOURNAL OF REV. W. E. HILL FROM JANUARY TO JU 

 (INCLUSIVE,) 18S3. 



PART III. 



April 5. Among the new comers I can add to-day the 

 Chipping Sparrow, (Spizella socialis), and the Pewit Fly- 

 catcher, or Phcebe-bird, (Sayonris fuscus,) also the Ruby- 

 crowned Kinglet, (Regulus calendula.) Observed two or 

 three of the last busily gleaning among the branches of a 

 Maple tree at the road side in the neighborhood of the 

 Spruce. 



April 9. Gave an hour this morning to the birds with 

 the following gratifying results : Among the new arrivals 

 saw several small parties of Cow-blackbirds, {Molothrus 

 pecoris), each consisting of two or three females and one 

 male. It has often occurred to me there is a singular and 

 striking resemblance between certain habits of this bird 

 and our domestic poultry in this — there is no pairing among 

 them, they live during the breeding season in small parties 

 or flocks, a sort of " promiscuous concubinage" manifestly 

 pervading the whole tribe ; and certainly again they are not 

 unlike many of our breeds of poultry in their remarkable 

 habit of depositing their eggs in ready-made nests, but 

 never incubating or rearing their own young. I have also 

 observed the male bird strut and spread his wing and as- 

 sume bewitching attitudes in the presence of the females — 

 counterparting the very manners of the Bantam Cock. 

 Saw also several pairs of Towhee Buntings, or Chewinks, 

 (Pipilo erythrophthalmus), invariably about thickets o» 

 brier patches. While observing these birds one of them 

 mounted to the top of a small tree, and for about five min- 

 utes, at short intervals, uttered a series of not unmusical 

 notes resembling the syllables pet-er, che-che-che. These 

 birds may at once be recognized by their cry of to-wee fre- 

 quently uttered, especially when disturbed. The following 

 features will identify them " in the bush " : The head, 

 throat and back are black, the sides below the wing, bay ; 

 there is a touch or two of white on either wing, also on the 

 outer edge of the tail ; in flying the white feathers are es- 

 pecially prominent. Audubon remarks that in the spying 

 migration the male precedes the female two weeks in point 

 of time, but both seem to have appeared here simultaneous- 

 ly, and both a little earlier than he announces for the males. 



While seated on a log, a company of nine or ten Golden- 

 crested Kinglets, (Regulus aatrapa), made their appearance 

 —flitting among the branches of the trees all around me, 



