THE MEADOW LARK. 85 



benumbing winds and rains? Had we the wings of a bird, 

 would we not then fly away to sunnier climes and be at rest ? 



Always a bird of the fields, hence sometimes called " Old 

 Field Lark," on its arrival it keeps to the ground, the 

 stone heaps, and the fence. As the period of mating and 

 nidification approaches, the male becomes quite noisy. 

 Launching into the air at a considerable height, instead of 

 his whistling warble, he gives vent to a loud, guttural twitter. 

 Frequently alighting in solitary trees about the field, he 

 steps back and forth, and jerks and spreads his tail in the 

 most uneasy and excited manner. The female, meanwhile, 

 seems shy and retiring, and frequently needs a good deal of 

 coaxing on the part of the male; but in due time receives 

 his amorous attentions with the utmost complacency. 



Though this species breeds in Florida already in the latter 

 part of April, nidification does not begin here till the middle 

 or latter part of May. In the case of a most typical nest, an 

 excavation is made in a tussock of grass; coarse dried 

 grasses are duly arranged as a frame-work, and the lining 

 is of fine grasses, while the dried grasses of the previous 

 year, still standing around the excavation, are matted and 

 arranged overhead with other material, so as to form a roof 

 open on one side. In this cozy home are placed four or five 

 white eggs, a little larger than those of a Robbin, about 

 1.10 X .80, speckled, and sometimes blotched, with reddish- 

 brown and lilac. Sometimes, however, the nest is quite 

 exposed, like that of a Bay-winged Sparrow. In New York 

 State a second brood may be raised. The young are most 

 tenderly cared for by the parents for weeks after being able 

 to fly; indeed, up to the period of migration the whole 

 family generally keep together. When caring for their 

 young the parent birds have a peculiar note, which sounds 

 like quaip, qiiaip. 



