The Lark-Finch ( Chondestes grammaca ) again in Massachusetts. — 
On November 25, 1877, I had the pleasure of seeing in the flesh a female 
bird of this species, taken the previous day near the residence of Mr. C. J . 
Maynard, Newtonville, who notified me of the fact, and has since kindly 
presented me with the skin. The bird was brought to him by a boy very 
soon after it was shot, who stated it was in company with another of the 
same kind. Mr. Maynard went immediately in search, but only Tree 
Sparrows and a flock of Snow Buntings were to be seen. The Lark 
Finch is a rare bird east of the Ohio River, and there is but one previous 
record for this State or New England, namely, a specimen found in 
Gloucester about 1845 (Proc. Ess. Inst., Yol. I, 1856, p.224). — -H. A. 
Purdie, Newton, Mass. Bull, N.O.O, 3, Jan. , 18 <8.p, ty ty , 
Chondestes grammica and Vireo riH - LADELriiiotis in Massa- 
chusetts. — A Lark Finch (Chondestes grammica') was shot at Magnolia, 
Mass., August 27, 1879, by W. S. Townsend. This is the third instance 
of its capture in Massachusetts. 
Kf. IAj". ■ 
Bull. N.O.O. 5, Jan,, 1880, p, 3 . 
The Lark Finch again in Massachusetts.— On the 6th of April last, 
while “hunting without a gun,” I saw for a moment a bird which I was 
confident was Chondestes grammicus. I visited the locality repeatedly 
after that, but without result until the evening of April 29, when I heard 
the hardly- to be-mistaken song of this bird. Next morning I was on the 
ground early, heard the song again, and finally obtained a sight of the 
singer so closely as to render the identification complete; but unfortun- 
ately failed to secure him. During the following week I looked for him 
every morning arid evening, but he was no more to be heard 01 seen. 
The record of this bird for Massachusetts (for all New England as well)', 
as given in the latest work (Coues’s Stearns of 1881), embraces three 
examples, no one of which was taken in the spring, unless possibly the 
first, in 1845, when the month is not given. 
I send this note with hesitation; mindful of the ancient compansion of 
values of “a bird in hand,” etc. (a low estimate from an Ornithological 
point of view!), but as I saw distinctly the white outer tail-feathers so 
characteristic of Chondestes , and heard the remarkable Canary-like notes 
several times, I consider the identification positive.— F. C. Browne, Fra- 
mingham, Mass. Bull. N, 0.0» 3 , July . 1883 , Pi 1 ti . 
The Lark Sparrow in Massachusetts. — On August 12, 1905, at Ips- 
wich, Massachusetts, I observed at close range a Lark Sparrow ( Chon- 
destes grammacus). This makes the sixth record of this species for the 
State, and the fourth for Essex County. Nearly a year before this, on 
August 21, 1904, I took at Ipswich an adult male Lark Sparrow (Birds 
of Essex County, p. 268). It has occurred to me that stragglers in the 
migrations along our Eastern Coast may not be so very rare, but that 
they are overlooked, being mistaken for Vesper Sparrows, owing to the 
white outer tail feathers. In both of the above instances, however, the 
slightly fan-shaped tail, and the fact that the white was not confined to 
the two outer feathers, as in the Vesper Sparrow, attracted my eye. The 
characteristic marking on the side of the head in the Lark Sparrow, seen 
with a glass within thirty feet, made the diagnosis in the second case 
absolutely certain. — Charles W. Townsend, M. D., Boston, Mass. 
Aukt XX11I, Jan., 1906, p.roz-lo*,. 
