544 Colorado College Publication 



about Colorado Springs; Keyser could hardly find words to 

 express his admiration and wonder of the lark's music, and 

 others have written in the same strain. 



June 4-7, 1898, Aiken made notes on Meadowlark songs 

 at Ramah, as follows: 



"The variety of its song is quite remarkable. I noticed 

 some styles of song different from those in the vicinity of Colo- 

 rado Springs, and some that are the same. It is a common 

 thing to hear a certain lark that has been singing one song for 

 a time change to another in different key, and with different 

 notes and inflections. I take it that each bird has two songs. 

 Two by one individual which I noted were : see, ching-ling, 

 ihick-le-pup, and see-saw, chick-a-lit-tle , chick-a-loop. The song 

 consists usually of seven or nine notes or syllables, a combina- 

 tion of clear flute or whistling notes with liquid and guttural 

 tones. Usually one or two notes receive special emphasis, and 

 the variation of accent is one point of difference. It is often 

 on the last note but is also given on various notes in the song. 

 The different key in which different songs begin and end is 

 another point, but the notes themselves differ widely in differ- 

 ent individuals. The following songs are most often heard at 

 Colorado Springs, and also at Ramah : See-saw-see, bil-lee- 

 co-bah; co-que-co, queed-lick, twee-pah; bah beep-a-lo, chuck- 

 a-luck. In the last the first part is the conspicuous part, 

 but in the two others the last part is most pronounced. I also 

 note at Ramah the following: ta ti ta ta, ta-ty-ta, the second 

 note on a higher key, and the last three uttered like tremolo ; 

 ee too, eat a little ee-tle doo-ple." Subsequently to writing this 

 Aiken heard five of the familiar songs uttered by one bird with- 

 in a few minutes. 



In June, 1900, he made the following note on the song 

 of a lark at Hartsel, Park County: "I heard a song I had 

 never heard before, 'Come Wil-lie, come quickly home.' I 

 had almost ■ concluded the mountain larks had songs unlike 



