INJURIOUS INSFXTS OF 1904. 



133 



Throat, forehead and breast reddish chestnut, paler below. Metal- 

 lic blue on back cfiid head. Tail forked ; some white on each feather 

 in tail except those in the middle. Nest of mud and grass lined 

 with feathers, in barns and other buildings. In the writer's opinion 

 no farm scene is complete without these birds fiitting in and out ol 

 the barn. A rapid and graceful flyer, it captures, while on the wing, 

 moths, flies, beetles and frequently grasshoppers and flying ants. Of 

 three specimens shot in June in Nebraska, in a "locust year," accord- 

 ing to Professor Aughey, the stomachs of two contained sixty-eight 

 locusts and the stomach of the third thirty-seven locusts. As might 

 be inferred, these birds are strictly insect eaters. 



MEADOW LARK. 





Fig. 128. — Meadow Lark. From Biological Survey U. S. I)ep. of .\griciilture. 



The Meadow Lark is common from the Atlantic to the Great 

 Plains, and a variety extends west of the Plains to the Pacific Coast. 

 It is an inhabitant of both prairie land and fields in districts more or 

 less wooded, and while not a fine songster, in the opinion of many, 

 adds much to our enjoyment of the country. The color of the upper 

 parts is a mingling of black, whitish and chestnut, darker on the head, 

 where we find a light streak running back from the bill ; side of head 

 light, showing a yellow streak over and in front of eye; chin, throat 



