and in summer upon both seeds and insects, these birds are 

 beneficial to man. It is a gratifying fact that they are increas- 

 ing and spreading from the Prairie States, their original home, 

 to the older states in which the forests have been cleared away. 

 The fame of the European Skylark of which the poets 

 write rests upon its habit of singing as it rises high in the air. 

 Our Horned Lark has the same gift. Often while pouring out 

 its song, it will rise in large circles beyond sight and hear- 

 ing. After an absence of a few seconds the song returns and 

 soon the bird reappears as a speck in the sky. Rapidly it 

 descends with wings almost closed. You fear that it will be 

 dashed to death, but when it is nearly down, its wings are 

 again expanded, the falling is checked and the bird touches 

 the earth with the lightness of a feather. 



BIRD NOTES 



65 



