MEADOWLARKS (Sturnella magna and 

 Sturnella neglecta) 



Length, about lo^ inches. 



Range : Breed generally in the United States, 

 southern Canada, and IMcxico to Costa Rica ; 

 winter from the Ohio and Potomac valleys 

 and British Columbia southward. 



Habits and economic status : Our two mead- 

 owlarks, though differing much in song, resem- 

 ble each other closely in plumage and habits. 

 Grassy plains and uplands covered with a thick 

 growth of grass or weeds, with near-by water, 

 furnish the conditions best suited to the mead- 

 owlark's taste. Tlie song of the western bird 

 is loud, clear, and melodious. That of its east- 

 ern relative is feebler and loses much by com- 

 parison. In many localities the meadowlark is 

 classed and shot as a game bird. From the 

 farmer's standpoint this is a mistake, since its 

 value as an insect eater is far greater than as 

 an object of pursuit by the sportsman. Both 

 the boll weevil, the foe of the cotton grower, 

 and the alfalfa weevil are among the beetles it 

 habitually eats. Twenty-five per cent of the 

 diet of this bird is beetles, half of which are 

 predaceous ground beetles, accounted useful 

 insects, and one-fifth are destructive weevils. 

 Caterpillars form ii per cent of the food and 

 are eaten in every month in the year. Among 

 these are many cutworms and the well-known 

 army worm. Grasshoppers are favorite food 

 and are eaten in e\ery montii and almost every 

 day. The vegetable food (24 per cent of the 

 whole) consists of grain and weed seeds. 



RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD (Agelaius 

 phoeniceus) 



Length, about 9>4 inches. 



Range : Breeds in Mexico and North Amer- 

 ica south of the Barren Grounds ; winters in 

 southern half of LTnited States and south to 

 Costa Rica. 



Habits and economic status : The prairies of 

 the upper Mississippi Valley, with their numer- 

 ous sloughs and ponds, furnish ideal nesting 

 places for redwings, and consequently this re- 

 gion has become the great breeding ground for 

 the species. These prairies pour forth the vast 

 flocks that play havoc with grain fields. East 

 of the Appalachian Range, marshes on the 

 shores of lakes, rivers, and estuaries are the 

 only available breeding sites and, as these are 

 comparatively few and small, the species is 

 much less abundant than in the West. Red- 

 wings are eminently gregarious, living in flocks 

 and breeding in communities. The food of the 

 redwing consists of 2.^ per cent animal matter 

 and "^z per cent vegetable. Insects constitute 

 practically one-fourth of the food. Beetles 

 (largely weevils, a most harmful group) 

 amount to 10 per csnt. Grasshoppers are eaten 

 in every month and amount to about 5 per 

 cent. Caterpillars (among them the injurious 

 army worm) are eaten at all seasons and ag- 

 gregate 6 per cent. Ants, wasps, bugs, flies, 

 dragonflies, and spiders also are eaten. The 

 vegetable food consists of seeds, including 

 grain, of which oats is the favorite, and some 

 small fruits. When in large flocks this bird is 

 capable of doing great harm to grain. 



I'lnitnfiirapli !)>• l-;itiin I'. 



Tllli SLACKKR OF BlUDDOM KXl'OSl^U 



This is a picture of the nest of Mr. and Mrs. ^'ell()w-breastc(l Chat, and the majority of 

 the eggs belong to the lady of the house; but she has been impose<l upon in her absence and 

 made the victim of the indolence of her neighbor, Mrs. Cowbird. who has laid an egg in the 

 Chat nest for Mrs. Chat to incubate with her own. Mrs. Cowbird, relieved of the respon- 

 sibility of bringing up her offsi)ring, is probably off indulging in some frivolity. This para- 

 sitic habit is a characteristic of the cowbird. ']"he darker egg is the alien emi)ryo. 



61 



