32 



Bulletin of the Michigan Ornithological Club. 



the same as the tirst with a considerable 

 addition. The second song is more mus- 

 ical and has a wider compass than the first. 

 The Lark sings mostly just before sunset 

 and on rainy days. The male, I think, 

 does all the singing, but the female utters a 

 few indiscrimnate tones once in a while. 



The Lark is the first small bird to begin 

 nesting in this locality. The first nest I 

 have record of being taken was on March 

 30th, but the incubation was advanced 

 in this and I think the set must have 

 been complete March 25. This nest was 

 placed in a field and was a slight depres- 

 sion in a bunch of sod. It was loosely 

 built of dr}^ grass, small weed stalks 

 and rootlets. The nest contained four 

 eggs which were white blotched and spec- 

 kled all over with brownish drab, but the 

 heaviest markings are at the large end. 

 I am confident that this same bird built 

 another nest soon after this one was 

 taken, and completed another set of eggs, 

 because when a man was ploughing the 

 field next the one where the first nest 

 was located, he ploughed up a Lark's nest, 

 breaking the eggs. 



The next account T have of this bird is 

 May 23, 1895. At that time asparagus 

 season was at its height. The asparagus 

 bed had been covered with some straw 

 and it was a pretty good place for a bird to 

 conceal a nest, and if I had not seen 

 the bird building the nest I should prob- 

 ably not have found it at all. May 23 

 I saw the bird carrying material to the 

 nest, and I was very much delighted, for 

 I had never found a Lark's nest. The 

 bird evidently was in no hurry to build 

 and it was almost a week before 

 the nest was completed. This nest 

 had been placed between two growing 

 asparagus stubs and more were likely to 

 grow through the nest. Well, the Lark, 

 after she had her work about done sur- 

 veyed the nest, and taking all things 

 into consideration she gave it up as a bad 

 job. I was thunderstruck. That was a 

 case where I had counted my eggs be- 

 fore they were laid. 



But my hopes were to be renewed 

 again for on Saturday afternoon I saw 

 the Lark again with some building material 

 in her bill. Watching where she deposited 



this I found there a new nest just com- 

 menced. That night I slept well. Next 

 morning, Sunday, I went out into the 

 asparagus bed to see how Mrs. Lark 

 had progressed in this building venture. 

 To my great surprise, what should I see 

 but a completed nest containing one egg. 

 And all this done since 4 p. m. Satur- 

 day. One egg was laid each day there- 

 after until four had been deposited. As I 

 had to cut asparagus each day Mamma 

 Lark soon became accustomed to my 

 presence, although at times when she 

 had tlie blues or her husband didn't act 

 to suit her, she would rise straiglit 

 above the nest, on a level with my head 

 and peck at me, often nearly striking 

 my face. As incubation advanced I could 

 easily approach to within one foot of 

 the nest without the bird taking wing. 



In two weeks from time of tlie laying 

 of the first egg the brood was hatched 

 and in another week the youngsters left the 

 nest — first egg laid on Sunday ; eggs hatch- 

 ed on Sunday ; birds left nest on Sun- 

 day. After this I saw no more Larks 

 on our place. 



The RaDid DisaDDearance o? our Birds o\ 



Preu and the Result Which 



Must Follow. 



PERCY SELOUS. 



THIS is no new subject, and if it 

 has been threshed — which I do not 

 admit — it will bear threshing again. 

 Six consecutive years' residence in this 

 state convinces me, from careful observa- 

 tion, that our hawks and owls are getting 

 scarcer and scarcer. This is probably 

 owing to some extent to the clearing oflT 

 of the timber, to the draining of swamps, 

 but considerably also to the war waged 

 on hawks in general wherever opportunity 

 offers. To the average individual every 

 hawk is a henhawk whether it be a 

 Cooperii or a Circus and consequently 

 must die ; and this is an upsetting of the 

 balance of the laws of Nature which will 

 have a very prejudicial result. When 

 we take into consideration the immense 

 fecundity of many injurious rodents as 

 compared to the one or two hatches of their 



