Plate LV. 
CHONDESTES GRAM MICA— Lark Finch. 
Tlie Lark Pinch was first noted as an Ohio bird by Dr. J. M. Wheaton, in 1861. At the present 
time it is a rather common resident in Central Ohio from the middle of April until August or September. 
In Southern Ohio it is less common, and in the northern part of the State it is unknown. 
The nest is built early in May, and by the first week in June, or earlier, the young are generally 
hatched. It is probable that a second sitting of eggs is sometimes incubated in July. 
LOCALITY: 
The nest is usually placed in a field of clover or grass adjoining a wood, preferably a field of poorly 
cultivated, undulating land, aloug a road or small stream. 
POSITION : 
It is said that the nest is sometimes placed in a bush or tree; but in Ohio such a position must 
be very rare. Every nest which I have found or heard of has been situated in a slight depression in 
the ground, either natural, or fashioned by the bird. The little cup-shaped cavities which occur so 
abundantly beside the footstalks of red clover, furnish most desirable sites. 
MATERIALS : 
The materials of construction vary somewhat in different nests, according to the fancy of different 
birds for this or that material, and also according to its abundance. A nest before me, may be taken 
as a good example of the architecture of the Lark Pinch. It is composed and measures as follows: 
The coarser and external part of the nest consists of dried, loose, and semi-decayed stems of clover, 
and small weeds, interwoven into a compact cup — thickest about the rim, and thinnest at the center 
of the bottom. Within this cup is a thin layer of light-colored, fine, round fibres, and a few thin strips 
of plant-bark, and within this is the lining proper, which consists of a pretty thick layer of black and white 
hairs from the tail of the horse. At the center of the bottom of the nest the middle layer is wanting, 
and as the external structure is at this point almost absent also, the lining, rests nearly upon the ground. 
The external diameter is about four and one-eighth inches ; external depth, one and five-eighths. The 
internal diameter is two and five-eighths; internal depth, one and five-eighths inches. 
Another nest is quite similar to the above, except that it is lined with round and split grasses. 
Another has many dark-colored rootlets in its exterior. As a whole, the nest is generally very compact 
for its situation, and in dimensions does not vary much from the measurements given. 
EGGS: 
The complement of eggs is either three or fouiy commonly the latter number. They measure from 
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