82 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 211 



lark, "but rather more musical and richer in tone, slightly suggestive 

 of the song of the western meadow lark." 



DISTRIBUTION 



Range. — The southern meadowlark is resident from central south- 

 ern and northeastern Oklahoma (Love County, Vinita), northern 

 Arkansas, (Fort Smith), southeastern Missouri (Portageville), south- 

 ern Illinois (Wabash, Richland, and Lawrence Counties), south- 

 western Indiana (Knox County), southwestern Kentucky (Fulton 

 County, Rockport), Tennessee (except northeastern), Georgia (except 

 extreme northern), South Carolina and central southern and north- 

 eastern North Carolina (Rockingham, South Mills); south to south- 

 eastern Texas (Pierce, Galveston), the Gulf Coast and southern 

 Florida, south to Cape Sable. 



Casual records. — Casual in winter to southern Texas (Corpus 

 Christi, Cameron County). 



STURNELLA MAGNA HOOPESI Stone 



Rio Grande Meadowlark 

 HABITS 



The name Rio Grande meadowlark was formerly applied to the 

 meadowlarks of this species that live along our southern borders, 

 from Brownsville, Tex., to southern Arizona. But when Oberholser 

 (1930) described $. to. lilianae, the name S. to. hoopesi was restricted 

 to the birds of central-southern Texas. This meadowlark was de- 

 scribed and named by Dr. Witmer Stone (1897) from a specimen in 

 the collection of Josiah Hoopes, from Brownsville, Tex. He gives as 

 its characters: "Color below as in magna, but rather lighter and less 

 buff on the sides and under tail coverts; upper surface much grayer 

 and generally lighter. The brown tints of magna are very largely 

 replaced by gray, especially on the wings. Sides of the face whiter 

 than in magna; tail bars almost always distinct, i. e., not confluent 

 along the shaft of the feather. 



"This bird is the lightest of all the Meadow Larks, averaging a 

 little lighter than neglecta, the tail bars are also more distinct than 

 in any of the other races." 



I can find nothing recorded on its habits to indicate that they are 

 in any way different from those of the other southern races. 



