Mr. Nuttall states that he met with this bird early in May, on the wide grassy plains of the Platte. The birds were already paired for the season. He heard them utter no notes other than a chirp, as they kept busily foraging for their subsistence.
Mr. J. A. Allen (American Naturalist, May, 1872) speaks of this bird and the Lark Bunting as by far the most interesting species seen by him in Western Kansas. They were not only characteristic of the region, but were also among the few birds strictly confined to the arid plains. They were quite abundant, but were only met with on the high ridges and dry plateaus, where they seemed to live somewhat in colonies. At a few localities they were always numerous, but elsewhere would be frequently not met with in a whole day’s drive. They were very wary and tenacious of life, often flying a long distance after having been shot through vital parts. Most of the specimens had to be killed on the wing, at a long range. They are strong fliers, and seem to delight in flying in the strongest gales, when all the other birds appear to move with difficulty, and to keep themselves concealed among the grass. This bird sings while on the wing.
Mr. H. E. Dresser, in his paper on the birds of Southern Texas, mentions finding the Chestnut-collared Bunting in flocks early in the spring, on the prairies near San Antonio, but it was not a common bird there.
Dr. Woodhouse found this species quite rare in the Indian Territory, where he was only able to secure a single specimen.
Captain Blakiston met with this species on the Saskatchewan Plains on the 15th of May, 1858,—a higher range than has been noticed by any one else.
Dr. Heermann, while on a trip to the Rocky Mountains in 1843, met with this species in small flocks and pairs, scattered over the prairies of the Platte River, and was so fortunate as to meet with one of its nests. It was built on the ground, and was made of an interweaving of fine grasses and lined with hair. He describes the eggs, which were four in number, as having a white ground, with black lines at the larger end, and a few faint blotches of a neutral tint scattered over their whole surface.
This description does not quite correspond with the eggs collected by Mr. Audubon on the Upper Missouri. These have a clay-colored ground with the slightest possible tinge of green, and are marked with fine dots of purplish-brown, and larger markings, blotches, and short lines of dark brown. They measure .70 by .55 of an inch, and have a strong resemblance to the eggs of both P. pictus and P. maccowni.
Five eggs of this species, obtained at Fort Hays, Kansas, June 1, 1871, by Mr. J. A. Allen, measure .75 of an inch in length by .58 in breadth. They are small in proportion to the bird, and are somewhat pointed at one end. Their ground is a gray or grayish-white shade of stone-color, and this is somewhat sparingly marked with blotches of dark brown, almost black, and lighter markings of purplish-brown. The nest was placed on the ground, and was composed altogether of fine stems of grasses.
Plectrophanes ornatus, var. melanomus, Baird.
BLACK-SHOULDERED LONGSPUR.