XX 
THE MEADOW STARLINGS 
(Icteride) — Continued 
THE meadow starlings are short-tailed birds 
who live on the ground. They have long bills 
and mixed sort of plumage, of browns and 
yellows. 
Our common one, called the MEADOWLARK or 
Oxtp-Fietp Lark, though he is not really a lark, 
is a beautiful bird. He is larger than a robin, 
and his mottled feathers are set off by a bright 
yellow breast, with a black crescent under the 
throat. 
This bird lives in the meadows or pastures, 
and walks about on the ground, where he gets 
his food. When he wants to sing, he flies up on 
to a fence, or stands up very straight on a bit of 
turf, or a stone, and sings away a long time. It 
is a sweet song, or rather several sweet songs, 
for he does not always sing the same one. 
The mother lark looks like her mate. She 
makes her nest on the ground, and a snug and 
