340 
THE LIVING WORLD. 
superstition, is the fact that the chat often builds its nest under stones in bury- 
ing-grounds, and may be commonly seen in cemeteries, where it utters its 
doleful notes from the top of a heap, beneath which a dead body reposes. 
The White Wagtail (. Motacilla alba) is also a European bird, but a single 
species of which, the Yellow Wagtail (M. sulphurea ), has been found on the 
Western Continent, and this in Alaska. The Pied (M. yarrellii) and Gray 
Wagtail (M. campestris ) are also natives of Europe, and all the several species 
are . distinguishable alone by variation 
in color. They haunt the sea-shore, 
much after the manner of snipes, but 
they build their nests in the hollow of 
trees or, like the chats , in heaps of 
stones, and infrequently in brush heaps. 
They take their name from the constant 
flitting, or wagging, motion of the tail 
when not in flight. 
Larks. America is the habitat of 
several species of the lark family, which 
white wagtail. are recognizable by the great length of 
the claw of the hind toe, short and coni¬ 
cal bill, and the very long tertiary quill feathers of wing, usually being almost 
equal in length to the primaries. The Sky-lark (Alauda arvensis) is found in 
the United States, but its notes are not nearly so musical as the species found 
in England, nor is it in any respect so interesting a bird. The latter is remark¬ 
able not only for the beauty of its song, but also for the manner of its utterance, 
which is exceedingly strange. It delivers its notes always while on the wing, 
and at the moment of giving utterance the bird begins to soar upward, continu¬ 
ing its flight skyward, whistling 
all the while, until it rises entirely 
beyond the vision of a spectator. 
It is also credited with extraordi¬ 
nary intelligence, as the following 
story, related by a lady who claims 
to have been a witness, and re¬ 
peated by Woods, will testify: 
“A pair of larks had built 
their nest in a grass field, where 
they hatched a brood of young. 
Very soon after the young birds 
were out of the eggs, the owner 
of the field was forced to set the 
mowers to work, the state of the 
weather forcing him to cut his grass sooner than usual. As the laborers ap¬ 
proached the nest, the parent bird seemed to take alarm, and at last the mother- 
bird laid herself flat upon the ground, with outspread wings and tail, while the 
male bird took one of the young out of the nest, and by dint of pushing and 
pulling, got it on its mother’s back. She then flew away with her young one over 
the fields, and soon returned for another. This time, the father took his turn 
to carry one of the offspring, being assisted by the mother in getting it firmly 
crested lark ( Alvuda Cristata). 
sky lark ( Arvensis). 
