FIELD BIRDS 117 



where Meadowlarks were common along the high- 

 way, I observed that all the birds perching on the 

 fences by the roadside turned their backs toward 

 me as I passed. Try as I would, I could not see 

 their very differently colored underparts. Finally 

 I came to one bird who faced me squarely and, 

 turning his back toward the field behind him, per- 

 mitted me to ride by without flying. Here, I said to 

 myself, is a young and inexperienced bird who does 

 not realize how much more conspicuous his breast 

 is than his back, with its dull earth-brown, streaked 

 with dead grass-blades and stems; but, looking fur- 

 ther, I saw a Hawk coursing over the field just be- 

 yond the Meadowlark. The bird, too, had seen 

 him, and evidently choosing the lesser of two evils, 

 had turned his strongly-marked breast toward me 

 while the neutral-tinted back was presented to the 

 Hawk! 



While the Meadowlark, like all walking birds, 

 spends most of the time on the ground, where it se- 

 cures its food and builds its home, it also frequently 

 perches in trees. When on the ground in the grasses, 

 like Bob-white, it often will not fly until one almost 

 steps upon it. Its resemblance to a Bob-white at 

 such times is so great that it is sometimes called 

 "Marsh Quail"; Quail, we remember, being a com- 

 mon name of Bob-white. But the white outer tail- 



