NESTS AND EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 65 



around the larger end with a circle of ashy-brown, sometimes black, irreg- 

 ular lines and blotches; four or five in number; size i. by .68. This bird 

 belongs to California and Oregon, and is especially abundant in the swamps 

 and marshes of the former State. Like the Swamp Blackbird it nests in 

 the vicinity of water, in colonies, usually placing its nest in alder bushes, 

 willows, and flags. It is composed of mud, straw, and coarse grass, lined 

 with finer fibrous material. 



263. Meadow Lark — sturnella magna. Crystal-white, more or less 

 thickly spotted or dotted with reddish-brown and purplish, four to six in 

 number, with great variation in size, averaging i. lO by .80. This form of 

 the Meadow Lark is found in all portions of the United States east of the 

 Mississippi, from Texas and Florida at the south, and from Nova Scotia 

 to the Missouri at the north, mixing in the Upper Mississippi valley with 

 variety neglecta. Breeds throughout its range. As the name implies, it 

 is a bird of meadow and pasture land. Any suitable stretch of field or 

 grass-land may have its pair or its colony of Meadow Larks. In these 

 places may be heard their sweet, liquid and sympathetic strains from sun- 

 rise till the gloaming. The nest is made on the ground, usually at the foot 

 of a tuft of grass or low branching weed, which serves to conceal it; fur- 

 thermore being often built over so as to form an incomplete globular struc- 

 ture with an entrance at one side. Old Field Lark is a common name by 

 which this bird is known. 



264. Western Meadow Lark — sturnella neglecta. White, spar- 

 ingly spotted and dotted with markings of reddish and purplish-brown. 

 The dottings are finer than in the ^g^i of the eastern species; four to six 

 eggs are usually laid, size 1.08 by .75. This form is found from Iowa, 

 etc., west to the Pacific. The general nesting habits, eggs, etc., of this 

 and the Mexican Meadow Lark, 5. ui. mexicana, inhabiting Mexico and 

 Southern Texas, are the same. 



266. Audubon's Oriole — icterus audubonl Dull-white, scattered 

 over with faint markings of purple and dots and irregular zigzag lines of 

 dark brown and darker purple, sometimes almost black ; the complement 

 of eggs is usually four; size from .95 to i. in length, by .^j to .72 in 

 breadth. This beautiful Oriole occurs in the United States in the Lower 

 Rio Grande valley; thence southward. It is noted for its prolonged and 

 repeated whistle of extraordinary mellowness and sweetness. The nest is 

 placed in trees at varying heights, and is half pensile. It is made of long, 

 soft, fibrous grasses. 



268. Scott's Oriole — icterus parisorum. Dull-white, bluish tint, va- 



