A SUMMER CHORUS 117 



quickly takes wing, as you approach, with a 

 peculiar, fluttering, trembling motion, half fly- 

 ing, half sailing to a safer location in the fields 

 of grass. Besides this song he has a series of 

 rather harsh, grating calls, rather unpleasant to 

 the ear, especially when the bird is alarmed. It 

 IS said his western cousin far surpasses him as a 

 vocalist. 



Probably the greatest attraction of the 

 Meadow Lark is his fine plumage which presents 

 a symphony of coloring that is not surpassed 

 among birds. So perfectly do the streaked 

 black, brown and gray of his back harmonize 

 with the color of the grass stubble where he 

 lives, that were he to keep quiet, he would rarely 

 be discovered. The sides and under parts are 

 whitish, spotted with black, except the breast 

 which is a beautiful yellow with a very distinct 

 black crescent. The outer tail feathers are 

 white, a most conspicuous field mark in flight. 



When the Meadow Lark lights, if he sees you 

 looking at him, he shakes and flutters his tail 

 as though in anger at your presence. He will 

 watch you for a moment and then take up his 

 search for food, skulking through the grass much 

 like a young turkey in pose and movement. 

 Although rather shy, they sometimes nest within 

 a hundred feet of our lawn. The structure of 

 coarse grass, lined with finer grass, always on 

 the ground, is sometimes roofed over. The eggs, 

 four to six in number, are white, thickly spotted 

 with fine brown spots. 



The summer range of the Meadow Lark is 

 broad, from the Gulf of Mexico to New Bruns- 



