108 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



got there, I don't know, but she was there, and her unconcern seemed so af- 

 fected, in such decided contrast to her spouse's evident nervousness, that I 

 became suspicious. Retreating, as I had come, till I was at a safe distance, 

 I watched them. She flitted lightly through the wire fence, alighting on the 

 ground. He followed. He always followed her. For several minutes she 

 ran about, half concealed among the clods, where she pretended to be eat- 

 ing. The male always kej^t his eyes on me, uttering ever}^ now and then, his 

 ground song and constantly flitting here and there in a restless constrained 

 manner. Once he even forgot himself so far as to alight on a fence post. 

 It is seldom that they seek a higher perch than that offered by a clod. I 

 had watched them for some time when the female flitted back into the pas- 

 ture, where she alighted. After taking a xerj circuitious route she disap- 

 peared behind a clump of clover. When she did not reappear after a reason- 

 able length of time I began to grow restless, myself. All this time the male 

 was standing near her hiding place uneasily watching me. I walked for- 

 ward to within four feet of her before I flushed her. I found a little hole 

 freshly excavated. I have often wondered if the Lark excavated the hole 

 for its nest, or appropriated a natural one. The evidence now before me 

 showed that she dug the hole either with bill or claws, or more probably 

 with both; the ground being moist and soft she could easily do it. The sit- 

 uation was on a hillside sloping to the east, and the surplus earth had all 

 been placed on the lower side of the hole, whether to raise that side to a 

 level with the upper, or just because it was easier to throw the dirt out on 

 the lower side, I cannot say. The cavity sloped slightly back into the hill- 

 side, and was at the base of a clump of clover, which in a week shaded the 

 nest from the sun. 



I concluded the hole was just about the proper size and was not mistaken, 

 for when I moved to my former place of observation, she immediately began 

 lining it with grasses, all of which she secured within a radius of ten feet of 

 the nest. She rarely took wing in fetching the material, but usually moved 

 at a brisk walk or trot. As material was plentiful, the building of the nest 

 progressed rapidly. The male did not assist her at any time. Instead, he 

 watched me constantly. He had complete control of himself now, and 

 neither moved nor uttered a sound. After watching them for some time I 

 continued my walk. I returned to the nest again May 1st. As I approach- 

 ed, I heard the song of the male but could not locate him. I stepped up to 

 within six feet of the nest before the female flew off". It contained two gray- 

 ish eggs, heavih^ speckled with brown. As I inspected them the birds 

 watched me silently from a distance. I came back again seven days later 

 and found the nest empty. The birds were nowhere to be seen, but I could 

 hear the distinct notes of several diff'erent males in the vicinitty. The nest 



