LAND mRDS. 447 



to travelled roads, and even in parks and on lawns wherever it finds itself 

 safe from persecution. Its beautiful plumage, attractive notes, and great 

 economic value commend it alike to all classes and situations and it should 

 be most rigidly protected and encouraged. 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Adult male: Upper parts mainly black, streaked, spotted, anel imperfectly l)arred 

 with grayish-brown; crown mainly black, with a median whitish stripe; a similar light 

 stripe runs backward from the eye, with a narrow black stripe below it, dividing it from 

 the cheeks and auriculars, which are also grayish white; a bright yellow line from nostril 

 to eye; chin, throat, breast, belly and bend of wing, rich yellow, the yellow of the throat 

 not extending laterally onto the malar region; chest with a conspicuous black crescent 

 separating the yellow of throat and breast; sides and flanks heavily streaked with black 

 and grayish-white; two or three outermost pairs of tail-feathers pure white on inner webs; 

 bill brown, horn-colored at base; iris brown. 



Adult female: Smaller and duller, the black above not so deep, and the yellow of throat 

 and breast paler. Young birds resemble the female, and for a time show no black collar, 

 or only a series of black spots there. In autumn all specimens have the black and yellow 

 markings much veiled or overlaid by the broad ashy tips and margins of the feathers; these 

 wear off almost entirely before the breeding season. 



Male: Length 9.50 to 1 1 inches; wing 4.40 to 5; culmen 1.20 to L52. Female: Length 

 -8 to 10 inches"; wing 3.95 to 4.30; culmen 1.04 to 1.17. 



201. Western Meadowlark. Sturnella neglecta .l;«/(/oo/?. (501b) 



Synonyms: Common Meadowlark, Field Lark, or Lark, of the West. — Sturnella neglecta 

 of Aud. and most authors until about 1870. — Sturnella magna neglecta of most recent 

 writers. 



So similar to the eastern Meadowlark as to be separable with difficulty 

 except by the expert. The western form is decidedly paler both above 

 and below, having a peculiar bleached appearance, which, however, is 

 also found sometimes in specimens of the eastern form when in worn 

 plumage. In size the two forms are nearly alike, but the western form 

 averages a little larger. 



Distribution. — Western United States, from Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, 

 Texas, etc., west to the Pacific Coast and north to British Columbia and 

 Manitoba, south through central and western Mexico. 



The only unciuestioned record of this species for the state is that of a pair 

 seen near Palmer, Marquette county (Upper Peninsula), on May 10, 1894, 

 by Mr. Oscar B. Warren. One of these birds was secured and the skin is 

 now in the College collection. The species has been reported at various 

 times by different observers in wddely separated parts of the state, but 

 we have no specimens to confirm any of these observations and it seems 

 almost certain that the birds reported by Dr. Atkins from Ingham county, 

 and by Covert from other parts of the state, were simply ordinar}^ eastern 

 Meadowlarks in somewhat unfamiliar plumage. 



Similar as the two forms are in plumage and general habits, they differ 

 remarkably in song. The present species, on its natural nesting grounds 

 west of the Mississippi, has a beautiful warbling song, suggesting somewhat 

 that of the Baltimore Oriole, but much more prolonged and sometimes 

 almost rivalling that of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Even the imperfect 

 autumnal song, which the writer has heard many times on the Minnesota 

 prairies in September, is utterly unlike anything which the eastern bird 

 ever produces, and it would seem impossible that the two birds could be 

 confounded if one were familiar with their songs. 



