16 Sketches of Some Common Birds. 



The meadow larks utter their notes when on the 

 ground or on the wing, usually either at the beginning oi 

 ending of their short flights. Crouching or walking on 

 the ground, at our approach they crouch more closely to 

 the earth for a moment before springing into the air, 

 scolding us in a loud and rather harsh note for disturbing 

 them. Taking wing and still scolding as they advance, 

 their manner of flight attracts our attention. They fly 

 rapidly by flapping the wings for some distance, and then 

 sailing forward a few yards with expanded pinions; these 

 alternate motions are repeated, the outspread tail forming 

 a conspicuous feature, since the outer feathers are white 

 and show prominently in flight. They fly somewhat like 

 the bob-white, in a steady, straight-away course, though 

 their flight is less swift and more regular than that of the 

 quail. 



The song of the meadow lark, though simple and un- 

 varied to a great extent, is clear, ringing, and rich in its 

 mellow fullness, yet containing an element of plaintive- 

 ness quite perceptible to the sympathetic mind. In some 

 localities the song is interpreted by the words, " Laziness 

 will kill you." Eesidents of other country districts hear 

 it in the children's challenge, "Peek, you can't see me." 

 In both the foregoing renderings the syllable preceding 

 the last receives the emphasis. These combinations ex- 

 press merely the quantity of the song, failing as do all 

 attempts to aid the mind in forming an adequate concep- 

 tion of the quality and execution. A common note of the 

 meadow lark is a loud, indrawn whistle uttered in a 

 mournful key, sometimes following the harsh, stridulating 

 tones it uses in scolding, and frequently repeated from 

 the top of a small hedge, tree, or other favorite perch. 

 This plaintive whistle is sweetly expressive, and the 

 minor element is more prominent in it than in any other 

 utterances of the meadow lark. Like many other birds, 

 the meadow lark has a song it reserves for occasions of 

 inordinate ecstasy, a song that is executed by the male 

 and only while in the air. Soon after rising from the 

 ground, or after flying some distance, it repeats in a hur- 

 ried, ecstatic manner a jumble of all its notes, beginning 

 with the stridulating call. The whole performance indi- 



