BROWN OR RED LARK. 
451 
ond week in October. According to its well known hab- 
its, it frequents open flats, commons, and ploughed fields, 
like a Lark, running rapidly along the ground, and tak- 
ing by surprise its insect prey of flies, midges, and other 
kinds. They also frequent the river shores, particularly 
where gravelly, in quest of minute shell-fish, as well as 
aquatic insects and their larvae. At this time they utter 
only a feeble note or call, like tweet tweet , with the final 
tone often plaintively prolonged, and, when in flocks, 
wheel about and fly pretty high, and to a considerable 
distance before they alight. Sometimes families of these 
birds continue all winter in the Middle States, if the sea- 
son prove moderate. In the Southern States, particu- 
larly North and South Carolina, they appear in great 
flocks in the depth of winter. On the shores of the San- 
tee, in January, I observed them gleaning their food 
familiarly amidst the Vultures, drawn by the rubbish of 
the city conveyed to this quarter. They likewise fre- 
quent the corn-fields and rice-grounds for the same 
purpose. They also migrate to the Bermudas islands, 
Cuba, and Jamaica, and penetrate in the course of the 
winter even to Mexico, Guiana, and Brazil. They are 
again seen on their return to the North, in Pennsylvania, 
about the beginning of May or earlier. It is also curi- 
ous to remark, that nearly all the individuals which thus 
flock to the South to pass the winter are young birds, as 
it does not appear that any naturalist in the United 
States is yet acquainted with the w/izYe-breasted or adult 
bird. So strong is the predilection of this species for 
rocky coasts, that in Holland they are known only to fre- 
quent the artificial break-waters which are made of large 
stones. 
The Red Lark (or Pepit , from its querulous note,) 
makes its nest in mountainous countries, even upon the 
