. The birds of Ohio; a complete scientific and popular description of the 320 species of birds found in the state . d Eark ab-jures the madding crowd and de\-otes himself to the task of proving hissuperior merits and attractions to some make-believe-reluctant ladv. The THE PRAIRIE HORNED LARK. 205 Labrador birds, it may be, are still flocking; Bluebird has not brought theofficial tidings of spring from the Southland; but only let the February sunshine a little while and Prairies brave courting song is heard from on the frost is out of the ground, altho there may still be ampledanger
. The birds of Ohio; a complete scientific and popular description of the 320 species of birds found in the state . d Eark ab-jures the madding crowd and de\-otes himself to the task of proving hissuperior merits and attractions to some make-believe-reluctant ladv. The THE PRAIRIE HORNED LARK. 205 Labrador birds, it may be, are still flocking; Bluebird has not brought theofficial tidings of spring from the Southland; but only let the February sunshine a little while and Prairies brave courting song is heard from on the frost is out of the ground, altho there may still be ampledanger of snows, the sturdy pair sink a deep, cup-shaped depression in themoist earth and line it plentifully with dried grasses, last years thistle down,and such. In this latitude the eggs are laid in March or early April, threeor four in number, heavily and oftenest minutely, dotted with dull olive orgreenish brown, but sometimes bearing spots as large as those of Shrikeseggs. The favorite way to locate Horned Larks nests in season is to postones self at the edge of a field and watch the female skulk to her nest. I. Photo by the AutiiorAT THE SACRED HOUR OF SUNSET. have followed a bird with my glasses half wa}- across a forty acre field untilshe was so far away that I could judge of her whereabouts only by the factthat movement had apparently ceased. As I walked straight toward the nestthe bird would flush at forty or fifty yards. A first brood is raised in April and a second in June or Jul}. Accord-ing to Prof. Lynds Jones three broods are raised in Iowa, one early in April,another early in June, and a third in late July, or August. But the chief interest of nesting time centers in the song flight of themale. The song itself is perhaps nothing remarkable, a little ditty or suc-cession of sprightlv syllables which have no considerable resonance or mod-ulation, altho they quite defy vocalization; yet such are the circumstancesattending its delivery that it is set down by every one as
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1903
