218 WAKE-ROBIN 
show two or three white quills in the tail, like the 
vesper sparrow. Flying over, they utter a single 
chirp or cry every few rods. They breed in the 
bleak, moss-covered rocks of Labrador. It is re- 
ported that their eggs have also been found in Ver- 
mont, and I feel quite certain that I saw this bird 
in the Adirondack Mountains in the month of 
August. The male launches into the air, and gives 
forth a brief but melodious song, after the manner 
of all larks. They are walkers. This is a charac- 
teristic of but few of our land-birds. By far the 
greater number are hoppers. Note the track of the 
common snowbird; the feet are not placed one in 
front of the other, as in the track of the crow or 
partridge, but side and side. The sparrows, thrushes, 
warblers, woodpeckers, buntings, etc., are all hop- 
pers. On the other hand, all aquatic or semi-aquatic 
birds are walkers. The plovers and sandpipers and 
snipes run rapidly. Among the land-birds, the 
grouse, pigeons, quails, larks, and various blackbirds 
walk. The swallows walk, also, whenever they use 
their feet at all, but very awkwardly. The larks 
walk with ease and grace. Note the meadowlark 
strutting about all day in the meadows. 
Besides being walkers, the larks, or birds allied 
to the larks, all sing upon the wing, usually poised or 
circling in the air, with a hovering, tremulous flight. 
The meadowlark occasionally does this in the early 
part of the season. At such times its long-drawn 
note or whistle becomes a rich, amorous warble. 
The bobolink, also, has both characteristics, and, 
