THE: O. & O. SEMI-ANNUAL. 29 
them up from this sort of couch before the sun has touched the 
snow-capped hills and awakened the resting birds. As they rise 
with a little volcano of snow and a startled cry, in swift and irreg- 
ular flight, you, yourself, are startled and hardly recover before 
they have dropped to a convenient cover to rub their eyes open. 
When there is little or no snow, the Larks pass the night in the 
long, dry grass in the bottom-lands or sloughs. 
During the day they fly hither and thither in flocks, or perch 
upon a post or clod of dirt, ever and anon uttering their long- 
drawn sa-w-e-e-e or s-w-e-e-e-e, ending in a rising inflection; it 
is the only winter song on our prairies ; others sing in the woods, 
but the Larks alone in the fields. One cold winter I found them 
in the barn-yard in the midst of a grove; it is a rare occurrence. 
While the country is snowbound they prefer the road, because, 
no doubt, grain is more plentiful there.. Yet they never wander 
very far from their accustomed grounds unless the weather is very 
inclement for a long period. If there are any bare spots on the 
hills, there the Larks gather and feed. 
When the warm south winds bring balmy days in late winter 
and early spring, and winter’s mantle begins to get ragged at the 
elbows and knees, all nature seems to rejoice. Then it is that the 
Larks begin to sing. Flitting and soaring directly upward until 
but a speck, a dot in the azure sky, one sends his notes dropping, 
rattling all around, soaring all the while. Unless you have closely 
watched him, you will look for him first here and there along the 
ground, whence the song seems to issue forth. Then, when you 
have abandoned the search, like a meteor straight down he dives, 
gracefully spreads his wings and rests on a convenient clod near 
by, once more uttering his rattling ti-s-r-i-l-i-e-e-e-e, that sounds 
like a distant rattling chain. During the pleasant days, as early 
as January, this song comes from everywhere, mingled with the 
other notes. 
Otocoris’ courtship is interesting indeed; but this paper is 
already too long, so this and his nesting habits must be left for 
another time. 
