THE OOLOGIST 



23 



describe the ground color of the egg 

 of the Meadow Lark as white. Tliose 

 wliich I liave collected, have a shade 

 of greenish blue for a ground color, in 

 the fresh egg, but fades to white in 

 time. The nests which I have found 

 (without the eggs) have been some 

 five inches across the top situated in 

 a cavity of some depth, as one made 

 by the hoofs of cattle in soft ground. 

 Nest made of fine dead grass woven 

 together. There is a record of the 

 Maine Ornithological Society Vol. XI. 

 page SO. Fred S. Walker, Auk Vol. 

 XXVII reports more fully of the 

 Meadow Larks wintering at Pine Point, 

 Maine. He says, "I have seen these 

 birds there almost daily throughout 

 the past three winters. Making their 

 home in the thick woods near by, they 

 obtain their food from the marsh. In 

 the winter of 1907-08 a flock of eight 

 stayed in the vicinity, the next winter 

 the number increased to twelve to 

 fourteen, 1909-10 there were thirty-five 

 to forty. In cold weather, and the 

 marsh covered with snow these birds 

 would venture up to the railway sta- 

 tion and pick up grain which had 

 fallen from the freight cars." Mr. 

 Walker also fed them at times with 

 grain, cracked corn, oats and barley, 

 which they ate with a relish. He also 

 states that on warm days in January 

 and February they often alighted on 

 the telegraph wires and sang. A large 

 portion of its food, three fourths at 

 least, consists of insects, and in the 

 fall it feeds mainly on grasshoppers. 

 The U. S. Department of Agriculture 

 estimates that twenty Meadow Larks 

 consume 1,000 grasshoppers a day dur- 

 ing the season. A grasshopper is said 

 to consume an amount of grass equal 

 to its own weight each day. In Cali- 

 fornia the ranchers of San Joaquin 

 and Sacramento Valleys reported a 

 loss of one third to one half of their 

 grain crops due to the depredations , 



of Meadow Larks on the sprouting 

 seed. Investigations justify the 

 charges, but also show that as a des- 

 troyer of cutworms and grasshoppers, 

 the Meadow Lark is unequalled by 

 any other California bird, and clearly 

 does a deal to offset the direct damage. 

 One may see from this what a great 

 benefit the Meadow Lark is to the 

 farmer. The Meadow Lark was for- 

 merly hunted for game. Wilson in 

 American Ornithology says of the 

 Meadow Lark: "They are generally 

 considered for size and delicacy little 

 inferior to the quail, and valued ac- 

 cordingly. There is scarcely a market 

 day in Philadelphia from September 

 to March, but they may be found in 

 the Market." The name "Meadow 

 Lark" was first applied to this bird by 

 Alexander Wilson, Bartram calls it 

 "The Great Meadow Lark" and Cates- 

 by "The Large Lark." Pennant called 

 it the "Crescent Stare." Fanny Hardy 

 Eckstorm calling attention to the slow 

 advance of the Meadow Lark into the 

 eastern section of the state says. Auk 

 1909. "It is one of the group of Al- 

 leghanian birds which are steadily 

 pushing their way eastward across 

 what was formerly a forest portion 

 of the state. The advance of these 

 birds is curious and should have been 

 studied much more closely than it has 

 been so far. The important point is 

 the determination of how long one of 

 our north and south flowing rivers like 

 the Kennebec and the Penobscot holds 

 a species in check. They seem very 

 reluctant to cross a stream like the 

 Penobscot, here about a quarter of a 

 mile wide. From five to fifteen years 

 is required before a species well es- 

 tablished in Bangor, come over here, 

 just across the river, to breed." 



This coincides with observations I 



have made on my farm. The Sebasti- 



cook rive, a branch of the Kennebec 



Js one of its boundaries, and it wa^ 



