EASTERN MEADOWLARK 67 



cemible, while the yellow on the breast was as pure as in an ordinary 

 Lark." 



Louis S. Kohler (1915b) gives an account of a partial albino mead- 

 owlark he observed near Bloomfield, N. J.: "On October 7th during 

 the afternoon while strolling over the fields I came upon a partly 

 albino bird. This bird was of normal plumage except the tail and 

 wings in which parts, more than half the feathers were devoid of 

 color. This bird during its association with others of its kind was 

 continually being attacked and presented a very bedraggled appear- 

 ance from their frequent onslaughts and was forced into solitude by 

 them at close intervals. But in spite of their pugnacity it always 

 returned to the vicinity of its tormentors and was immediately set 

 upon and driven off." 



G. B. Saunders (MS., see p. 5G) states: "There is an albino 

 eastern meadowlark in the Cornell University museum which has 

 upperparts and wings whitish, the bill pale brown, the jugular cres- 

 cent buffy brown, but the yellow imderparts nearly normal." There 

 are many other similar cases of partial albinism in the meadowlark 

 but I have discovered no report of a pure albino eastern meadowlark. 



Chas. H. Townsend (1883) describes a melanistic specimen collected 

 in New Jersey as follows: "The upper plumage is of the normal 

 color, while the whole head, neck and under parts are perfectly 

 black. There is the faintest possible trace of yellow along the sides, 

 and no white feathers in the tail, which is very dark above and below." 



Food. — Few birds of the agricultural areas can claim a higher rank 

 in its economic relations to man than does the meadowlark. During 

 the summer months most of its food consists of insects and closely 

 allied forms. It eats practically all of the principal pests of the fields 

 and is particularly destructive to the dreaded cutworms, caterpillars, 

 beetles, and grasshoppers. In the autumn, and especially in winter, 

 when insect life is scarce, it resorts in a large measure to seeds. It 

 does feed on certain grains useful to man, such as corn, wheat, rye, 

 and oats; but most of these are waste left behind at harvesttime. It 

 seldom disturbs these cereals when growing or before being harvested. 

 I have seen flocks of them in weedy cornfields where apparently they 

 were feeding exclusively on seeds of smartweeds and ragweeds. 

 Meadowlarks have been known to eat certain fruits such as wild 

 cherries, strawberries, and blackberries; but in general these constitute 

 but a very small part of their subsistence. 



An account of the food habits of the meadowlark among the sand 

 hills of North Carolina in winter is given by M. P. Skinner (1928): 



During the winter the number of Meadowlarks remained quite constant, 

 although there were temporary variations each day. But in February it became 

 noticeable that some of the winter birds were leaving. They seem to stand the 



