190 BIRDS OF NEW ENGLAND AND EASTERN NEW YORK 



unmistakable, but the males in the second year and the 

 females may be confused with female Baltimore Orioles ; 

 the greenish tinge of the upper parts should distinguish the 

 female Orchard Oriole, while the pure black throat of the 

 young male should identify him. 



Meadowlark. Sturnella magna 

 10.75 



Ad. — Upper parts brown, streaked with black; line through 

 crown buffy ; line from eye to bill yellow ; throat and belly 

 bright yellow ; black crescent on breast ; tail-feathers short and 

 narrow, outer ones white. Ad. in winter. — Upper parts a redder 

 brown ; black and yellow of under parts veiled with buff and 

 reddish-brown. Im. — Yellow of breast much paler ; black 

 crescent replaced by a few dark streaks. 



Nest, on ground, of dry grass, sometimes arched over. Eggs, 

 white, speckled with reddish-brown. 



In southern New England and in the lower Hudson Val- 

 ley, wherever the ground is fairly free from snow, par- 

 ticularly on salt marshes,, the Meadowlark spends the 

 winter in small flocks. The clear whistled notes of the 

 bird may there be heard in every month of the year. But 

 in the interior the Meadowlark is only a summer resident, 

 and in northern New England it is rare or absent. It fre- 

 quents wide stretches of grass-land, associating either with 

 Bobolinks in rich meadows or with Grasshopper Sparrows 

 in dry fields; at all seasons it is common on salt marshes. 



Its ordinary song is a clear, rather plaintive whistle, ut- 

 tered from the top of a tree, or a fence, and often in the 

 air ; it has besides a harsh guttural chatter, and a nasal 

 peent. In the breeding season the Meadowlark indulges 

 occasionally in a flight-song, more prolonged, but less clear 

 than its usual whistle. The yelloiv breast and the black 

 crescent do not often show ; the bird commonly keeps his 

 back to observers. The legs are long and stout, and the 

 bird spends much time on the ground, where it walks. 



