THE OOLOGIST. 



79 



as regards the relative distance of the nest 

 from the ground. 



Only on the topmost branches of the tall- 

 est trees do we find the majority of the 

 brightest-colored small birds ; only at a 

 great height we find their nests ; they as a 

 rule search for their food in the tops of the 

 trees ; withal, we scarcely, if ever find them 

 to frequent bushes or the ground. The 

 brightest-plumaged small birds construct 

 the most beautiful nests, and these make a 

 specialty of certain food and locality ; on 

 the other hand, the plainer birds always 

 build their nests nearer the ground, they 

 are nearly always more or less coarse, flat, 

 and loosely constructed ; th«ir food and 

 places of frequentation are not so distioct- 

 ive. Our beautiful little Wood Warblers, 

 those which nidificate in the trees, often at 

 a great height, make their nests of delicate 

 vegetable substances, such as the finest 

 grasses, lichens, fibers of moss, pieces of 

 vine-bark, occasionally feathers, the down 

 from various plants, etc. These birds seek 

 the minute insects to be found in the tops 

 of the trees, and though not as beneficial 

 as our garden Warblers, they clear the at- 

 mosphere and lofty vegetation of countless 

 inyriads of injurious insects. 



Those birds which build large bulky 

 nests range wide for, and subsist upon a 

 great variety of food, and, except in the 

 case of waders and swimmers, do not con- 

 fine themselves to any particular situation 

 while in pursuit of food. Their eggs, as a 

 rule are either dull or dark colored, and the 

 parents show less solicitude for the safety 

 of their nests and young, than those birds 

 which build elaborate structures. Such of 

 the larger birds as breed near the ground 

 are more prolific, and those most prolific 

 exhibit less anxiety concerning their eggs 

 and young, than less prolific ones. If we 

 draw a line of comparison between the nests 

 of small birds and those of large ones, con- 

 ceding proper allowance for the size of the 

 builders, we will find that the latter are ex- 

 tremely negligent in the selection of mate- 

 rials and in construction. Yet to make a 

 comparison of some of the less tasteful a- 



mong the smaller architects with those just 

 mentioned, a much greater degree of coarse- 

 ness is noticeable. 



We might go on with such a series of re- 

 lations between merely the nests of birds 

 and their characteristics, for two or three 

 pages, so varied and marked are the conclu- 

 sions to be derived from them. 



In the list of the Birds of Central New 

 York, the occurrence of the Shore Lark 

 {Eremojnla aljjestrh) was wholly omit- 

 ted. It is a regular spring and fall visitant 

 here and several specimens have been taken 

 about Utica in the last two years. 



JlrrhertacLTL (^trds. 



Plectrophanes Lapponicus in 

 Texas. 



N January 4th 1877, I made the fol- 

 ing entry : 



"Saw a strange bird to-day in 

 company with Shore Larks. It was the 

 size of Maccown's Bunting and somewhat 

 the color above ; had a reddish-brown streak 

 on the cheek, and some whitish on the side 

 of the neck, atid auriculars ; also throat 

 whitish. The bird flew wildly and high, 

 and while flying, uttered a louder, clearer 

 "clink" than the note of the Shore Lark. 

 It had considerable resemblance to some of 

 the Sparrows ; it was feeding in the road 

 where the snow was melting away. I think 

 I saw one some days since." 



On January 5th, I took my gun and went 

 in search of the bird I had seen. Near the 

 same place, the note of a bird similar to 

 the note I had heard on the 4th, attracted 

 my attention to a bird which I shot and 

 which proved to be a $ of Plectrojyhanes 

 lapponicus {JJvaw.^ . At another time, I 

 fired into a flock of what I supposed were 

 P. pictiis, and killed a $ and $ of P. lap- 

 ponicus. The 5 resembled the bird I had 

 first seen, having the black and chestnut 

 about the head and neck. After this I 



