A History of North American Birds, Land Birds. Volume 2. Robert Ridgway
Central Plains to the Rocky Mountains; southwesterly to Valley of Mimbres and Sonora; San Antonio, Texas, winter (Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 490). Fort Whipple, Arizona (Coues, P. A. N. S. 1866, 84). Parley’s Park, Utah (Ridgway).
Habits. This peculiar species, known by some writers as the Lark Bunting, and by others as the White-winged Blackbird, was first described by Townsend in 1837. He met with it when, in company with Mr. Nuttall, he made his western tour across the continent, on the 24th of May, soon after crossing the north branch of the Platte River. The latter writer regarded it as closely allied to the Bobolink, and described it as a Dolichonyx. He describes the birds as gregarious, consorting with the Cowbirds, and, at the time he met with them, uttering most delightful songs. Towards evening they sometimes saw these birds in all directions around them, on the hilly grounds, rising at intervals to some height, hovering and flapping their wings, and, at the same time, giving forth a song which Mr. Nuttall describes as being something like weet-weet-wt-wt-wt, notes that were between the hurried warble of the Bobolink and the melody of a Skylark. It is, he says, one of the sweetest songsters of the prairies, is tame and unsuspicious, and the whole employment of the little band seemed to be an ardent emulation of song.
It feeds on the ground, and, as stated by Mr. Townsend, may be seen in flocks of from sixty to a hundred together. It was, so far as their observations went, found inhabiting exclusively the wide grassy plains of the Platte. They did not see it to the west of the Black Hills, or the first range of the Rocky Mountains.
To Mr. Nuttall’s account Mr. Townsend adds that this bird is strictly gregarious, that it feeds on the ground, around which it runs in the manner of the Grass Finch, to which, in its habits, it seems to be somewhat allied. Mr. Townsend adds that, as their caravan moved along, large flocks of these birds, sometimes to the number of sixty or a hundred individuals, were started from the ground, and the piebald appearance of the males and females promiscuously intermingled presented a very striking and by no means unpleasing effect. While the flock was engaged in feeding, some of the males were observed to rise suddenly to considerable height in the air, and, poising themselves over their companions with their wings in constant and rapid motion, continued nearly stationary. In this situation they poured forth a number of very lively and sweetly modulated notes, and, at the expiration of about a minute, descended to the ground and moved about as before. Mr. Townsend also states that he met with none of these birds west of the Black Hills.
Mr. Ridgway also mentions that though he found these birds very abundant on the plains east of the Black Hills, he met with only a single specimen to the westward of that range. This was at Parley’s Park, among the Wahsatch Mountains.
Dr. Gambel, in his paper on the Birds of California, states that he met with small flocks of this handsome species in the bushy plains, and along the margins of streams, during the winter months. And Dr. Heermann states that he also found this species numerous in California, New Mexico, and Texas. Arriving in the last-named State in May, he found this species there already mated, and about to commence the duties of incubation.
Mr. Dresser found these birds common near San Antonio during the winter. In December he noticed several flocks near Eagle Pass. They frequented the roads, seeking the horse-dung. They were quite shy, and when disturbed the whole flock would go off together, uttering a low and melodious whistle. In May and June several were still about near Howard’s Rancho, and on his return from Houston, in June, he succeeded in shooting one in its full summer plumage, when its specific name is peculiarly appropriate. He does not, however, think that, as a general thing, any of them remain about San Antonio to breed.
They breed in great numbers on the plains of Wyoming Territory, and probably also in Colorado, Montana, and Dakota. The Smithsonian collection embraces specimens obtained in July from the Yellowstone, from Platte River, Pole Creek, the Black Hills, and Bridger’s Pass, indicating that they breed in these localities; also specimens from Texas, New Mexico, Sonora, and Espia, in Mexico, but none from California.
Dr. Kennerly, who met with these birds both in Sonora and at Espia, on the Mexican Boundary Survey, states that he observed them in the valley of the river early in the morning, in very large flocks. During the greater part of the day they feed on the hills among the bushes. When on the wing they keep very close together, so that a single discharge of shot would sometimes bring down twenty or thirty. Mr. J. H. Clark, on the same survey, also states that he sometimes found them occurring in flocks of hundreds. The greatest numbers were seen near Presidio del Norte. Great varieties of plumage were observed in the same flock. The food seemed to be seeds almost exclusively. They were very simultaneous in all their movements. Stragglers were never observed remaining behind after the flock had started. They are, he states, the most absolutely gregarious birds he has ever met with.
Dr. Coues, who regarded this bird as one highly characteristic of the prairie fauna, writes me that he met with it in great numbers in Kansas, soon after leaving Fort Riley, and saw it every day until he reached the Raton Mountains in New Mexico. “For two or three days, in fact, from Fort Larned to the mountains,” he writes, “I scarcely saw anything else. This was the first week in June, and most of the birds seemed to be paired and nesting, though occasionally a dozen or more were seen together, flocking like the Blackbirds that they strongly recall. They were in full song, and proved delightful vocalists. Sometimes they warble from some spray or low bush offering a stand a little above the level flower-beds of the prairie, but oftener they mount straight up, hovering high in the air on tremulous wings, pouring forth their melodious strains until, seemingly exhausted, they sink back to the ground. At such times it is interesting to watch two rival males, each straining every nerve to mount higher than the other, and sing more acceptably to its mate hidden in the verdure below. This habit of rising on the wing to sing, so famed in the case of the Skylark, seems not confined to particular species, but to be a forced practice of a number of different birds residing in open level regions, that do not afford the elevated perches usually chosen by woodland songsters for their performances. The ordinary flight of this species is altogether of a different character, being a low gliding motion, overtopping the weeds and bushes. That the birds were nesting at this time is rendered still more probable by the fact that the males noticed as we passed along were out of all proportion, in numbers, to the females seen. They were very heedless of approach, and any number could have been readily destroyed. I never saw any at Fort Whipple, or elsewhere in Arizona, though Dr. Heermann says that they are abundant in the southern portions of the Territory, and specimens are recorded from Lower California.”
Mr. Allen found the Lark Bunting one of the few birds that seemed strictly confined to the arid plains near Fort Hays, in Kansas. He met with it in great abundance, but only on the high ridges and dry plateaus, where they seemed to live in colonies. He describes them as very wary, and very tenacious of life, often flying long distances, even after having been mortally wounded. They seemed to delight to fly in strong winds, when most other birds kept in shelter. They sing while on the wing, hovering in the wind and shaking the tail and legs after the well-known manner of the Yellow-breasted Chat. Its song seemed to him to strongly resemble that of the Chat, with which, at such times, its whole demeanor strikingly accorded.
Dr. Heermann, in his Report on the birds collected in the survey on the 32d parallel, states that he first observed these birds on approaching the Pimos villages. They were associated with large flocks of Sparrows, gleaning grain and grass-seed upon the ground. When started up they flew but a short distance before they resumed their occupation. After crossing the San Pedro he again found them in large flocks. At Fort Fillmore, in Mesilla Valley, it was also quite common and associated with the Cowbird and Blackbird, searching for grain among the stable offals. He again met with them in Texas, in the month of April, most of them still retaining their winter coat. He describes the tremulous fluttering motion of the wings with which the male accompanies its song while on the wing as very much after the manner of the Bobolink, and he speaks of their song as a disconnected but not an unmusical chant. He found their nests on the ground, made of fine grasses, lined with hair, and in one instance he found the eggs spotted with faint red dashes.
At Gilmer, in Wyoming Territory, their nests were found by Mr. Durkee built on the ground, and composed of dry grasses very loosely arranged. The eggs, four or five in number, are of a uniform and beautiful light shade of blue, similar to those of the Euspiza americana. They measure .90 by .70 of an inch, are of a rounded-oval