SPRING AT THE CAPITAL 135 
A glimpse of the birds usually found here in the 
latter part of winter may be had in the following 
extract, which I take from my diary under date of 
February 4th: — 
“Made a long excursion through the woods and 
over the hills. Went directly north from the Capi- 
tol for about three miles. The ground bare and 
the day cold and sharp. In the suburbs, among 
the scattered Irish and negro shanties, came sud- 
denly upon a flock of birds, feeding about like our 
northern snow buntings. Every now and then they 
uttered a piping, disconsolate note, as if they had a 
very sorry time of it. They proved to be shore 
larks, the first I had ever seen. They had the 
walk characteristic of all larks; were a little larger 
than the sparrow; had a black spot on the breast, 
with much white on the under parts of their bodies. 
As I approached them the nearer ones paused, and, 
half squatting, eyed me suspiciously. Presently, 
at a movement of my arm, away they went, flying 
exactly like the snow bunting, and showing nearly 
as much white.” (1 have since discovered that the 
shore lark is a regular visitant here in February and 
March, when large quantities of them are shot or 
trapped, and exposed for sale in the market. Dur- 
ing a heavy snow J have seen numbers of them 
feeding upon the seeds of various weedy growths in 
a large market-garden well into town.) ‘‘ Pressing 
on, the walk became exhilarating. Followed a little 
brook, the eastern branch of the Tiber, lined with 
bushes and a rank growth of green-brier. Sparrows 
