THE OOLOGIST. 



229 



()i:cupuMl after 1 had ])ut my hand into 1 



it while it was being built. 1 



1T4. TroijIudjjU's acdon (Vi(uil.), j 

 House Wren (721). — A .summer resident. 

 Sini-e the advent of the Englisli spar- 

 I'ow Ihis speeies has become ciuite rare! 

 iiithei-ity. A few years ago we had 

 two or three pairs breeding in our yard 

 in boxes put w\) on tlieside of tlie bai'U 

 and on a[)ple trees, l)ut they were driv- 

 en off by the sjiarrows. Afteru'ard 1 

 ))at Uj) boxes v\ith holes <))ily hir£,;-e 

 enough lo admit tiie wrens, a.nd for 

 three _years a pair ha\ e oeeiipied one of 

 tlieni. After the young liad left the 

 nest thr' past seas;)n, I saw the male} 

 r;'in niiig the ne,-^t from rli" '"'"- j);<'ee I 

 by pii'ee; he would bring IheiU wut ami i 

 dr. pp thi'Mi to tlie ground. After v»'at.'h- 

 iii^ him a ioMg lini.' i tii:)ag:ii ! wouhi i 

 a^^isi lii;n in ii;s labiir, a ivl p iiiiag a. 

 htd.der up into th<' tree, I o]^'n( d the! 

 box ah ! r'lrew out th' r^'^r of the nest, j 

 and h.a! liari'ly reaehed th;- groiuni | 

 when 1 i) ■ iiii-d a;vain entei'ed the box, 

 and a UMiir'iit afie;- it ea;ne out, and j 

 m o.hiilag a lim!) within iw-i feet <d' the j 

 box, ai ! slretvhiing up Its neek, pe,ured I 

 forth hiS s )Ug of gratitude. VVonJer- 

 ing what the elfetd would b", ] pieked 

 up th" nest, and mounting tin-" lad<hM' 

 phved it on top of the box. Hardly 

 had I rea 'hed the gr.>und befcu'e he 

 again atta.,*ked the nest, and it \^'a-^ not 

 a minute before lie had thrown it to 

 the ground, bud again mounting vh& 

 limb finished his song, and departed, 

 .and we saw notliing m ore of our little 

 friends. But we exp -et them to^ return 

 next season, or wdiy were they so par- 

 ticular to remove their ohl 'nest from 

 the !)ox? 



Th.8 Shore Lark, 



Witli us the Horned, or Shoi'e Lark is 

 one of the most inter(>sting of birds, es- 

 pecially during migrations. This coun- 

 ty seems to be a sort of mJddh^ groiuid 

 ovei- whieli the wave of Larks lh)W 

 twice a. year— once in the si)ring when 



the birds go north to breed, and once 

 again in the fa,ll when they go into win- 

 t(M- (piarters farther south. 



Although iiH)St of these birils spend 

 wdnter and summer beyond the bounds 

 of this country, there aro sonie wdio al- 

 Vi'ays stay with us, . These are few, in- 

 deed diu-ing July and August, but in 

 winter they are comparatixely cmnmon. 



'i'iie Horned Lai'k is at houv only on 

 the ground and seldom i)erches higher 

 ilian the fence. So vtell does its livery 

 of black and r<<!-browr, lesembh' the 

 clods a,mong wiii^ h it dwells that it is 

 often diliicult to h.cate the l)ird, even 

 when with'n a, few feet of it. 'I'his Lark 

 ha-^ UKvny f.ivori'C fi'^'diiig grounds, 

 which ari' eliaiiged with the seasons. 

 Ill .autumn t/.ey .vr.- oft, ■nest tobe found 

 In H-lds of y.'C.iig ',\ ii.'at, but in winter, 

 when fields are , >>iowed luuler, they 

 must resort to the bar.' p!ac,-s, and so 

 are found on southern slopes, along the- 

 roaiUidrs, etc., wh^'U rhe snow is not 

 too dee-,! or tliere is a ervist. They are 

 often fodui! among tlie wei'd. growths 

 in o'.d li>'!ds, in spring tlu'y go back 

 !tv>the wheat hehts again and at this 

 1 sea-^ou s-peu'l much tiuie in old pastures 



When feeding the horned hirk runs 

 restlessly about mucii after the manner 

 of the Snow Bunting. Sometimes a 

 Hock will aliglit on lh.e edge of a fiehl 

 and, spreading «uit, feed across it in an 

 ortlerly manner, taking wing for other 

 fields when the fence is reached. , 



From this bird we have the first bird- 

 ,song of tlie year. It is often heard ear- 

 ly in January, fully a month and a half 

 before the Blueliird. The song consists 

 of a. few creaky notes, not especially 

 pleasing to the ear, Quit, quit, i]uit,you 

 stllii rig and get away, it s(Hmis to say. 

 The first three or four .sylables l)eiug 

 slowly and distinctly tittered and the 

 rest tomewhat hurriedly run together 

 However, like the faces and voices of 

 certain people, this ditty sw^'ctens o)i 

 ac(iuaintance and Mnally becomes a 



