Plate LV. 



CHONDESTES GRAMMICA-Lark Finch. 



The Lark Finch was first noted as an Ohio bird by Dr. J. M. Wheaton, in 1861. At the present 

 time it is a rather common resident in Central Ohio from the middle of April until August or September. 

 In Southern Ohio it is less common, and in the northern part of the State it is unknown. 



The nest is built early in May, and by the first week in June, or earlier, the young are generally 

 hatched. It is probable that a second sitting of eggs is sometimes incubated in July. 



LOCALITY: 



The nest is usually placed in a field of clover or grass adjoining a wood, preferably a field of poorly 

 cultivated, undulating land, along a road or small stream. 



POSITION : 



It is said that the nest is sometimes placed in a bush or tree; but in Ohio such a position must 

 be very rare. Every nest which I have found or heard of has been situated in a slight depression in 

 the ground, either "natural, or fashioned by the bird. The little cup-shaped cavities which occur so 

 abundantly beside the footstalks of red clover, furnish most desirable sites. 



MATERIALS: 



The materials of construction vary somewhat in different nests, according to the fancy of different 

 birds for this or that material, and also according to its abundance. A nest before me, may be taken 

 as a good example of the architecture of the Lark Finch. It is composed and measures as follows: 

 The coarser and external part of the nest consists of dried, loose, and semi-decayed stems of clover, 

 and small weeds, interwoven into a compact cup — thickest about the rim, and thinnest at the center 

 of the bottom. Within this cup is a thin layer of light-colored, fine, round fibres, and a few thin strips 

 of plant-bark, and within this is the lining proper, which consists of a pretty thick layer of black and white 

 hairs from the tail of the horse. At the center of the bottom of the nest the middle layer is wanting, 

 and as the external structure is at this point almost absent also, the lining rests nearly upon the ground. 



The external diameter is about four and one-eighth inches ; external depth, one and five-eighths. The 

 internal diameter is two and five-eighths; internal depth, one and five-eighths inches. 



Another nest is quite similar to the above, except that it is lined with round and split grasses. 

 Another has many dark-colored rootlets in its exterior. As a whole, the nest is generally very compact 

 for its situation, and in dimensions does not vary much from the measurements given. 



EGGS: 



The complement of eggs is either three or four, commonly the latter number. They measure from 



203 



