He 28 BANGS — THE FLORIDA MEADOWLARK 2: 
1099 
upper parts much darker in color, the dark central areas of the feathers being 
much greater in extent and the light edges much less; tail and wings darker, 
the barring on middle rectrices, and on secondaries, tertials and wing coverts, 
much wider and more pronounced. The general effects produced by these 
differences are, in S. magna magna, a large bird with paler yellow under parts 
and a lighter brown back; in S. magna argutula a small bird with deeper yel- 
low under parts and a very dark brown back. 
Size.—Type, 3S adult: wing, 113.4; tail, 72.6; tarsus, 41.2; exposed cul- 
men, 35.mm. Topotype, no. 226, 9 adult: wing, 100.2; tail, 68.; tarsus, 36.; 
exposed culmen, 28.6 mm. 
Remarks.—The geographical distribution of the two forms — true 
S. magna and S. magna argutula —is quite remarkable. True S. 
magna extends south over the Atlantic tier of States certainly to 
northern Georgia, and birds even from St. Mary’s, in the south- 
eastern corner of Georgia, are perhaps better placed with it than 
with S. m. argutula, On the other hand, S. magna argutula, 
though reaching its extreme differentiation in peninsular Florida, 
extends along the Gulf coast to Louisiana, and thence up the 
Mississippi Valley to Indiana and Illinois. Mr. Stone said he 
could not distinguish Louisiana birds from Florida ones. I have 
not examined closely any Louisiana specimens, but those from 
Indiana and Illinois that I have seen are not extreme argufula, 
though more near to it than to S. magna magna. 
At the last meeting of the American Ornithologists’ Union, held 
in Washington, Mr. Louis Agassiz Fuertes gave some imitations 
of the notes of the meadowlarks, and told the members of the 
Union that the Florida bird had notes that he at once recognized 
as different from those of the northeastern form, adding that he 
considered the difference in this respect important enough to be 
of weight in separating the two forms subspecifically. Though 
very familiar with both birds in life, my ear is not acute enough to 
detect the difference in their notes. Their habits are unlike, but 
this is principally due to the very different conditions under which 
they live. 
