MEADOWLARK. 
fore the rusty-colored females put in an appearance 3 
then, as might be expected, the conversation waxes 
lively, and the competitors for mates have a great deal 
to say about themselves for nearly a month or so before 
the mating begins. This is sometimes as late as the end 
of the first week in May. About the first part of August 
the birds have finished with all domestic cares, and have 
begun a desultory career in the open country near the 
coast; two months after this they are on the march 
south again. 
Meadowlark The Meadowlark, sometimes called the 
Shed eae Field Lark, is a plump, sharp-billed, low- 
magna A 
L. 10.75 inches forehzaded bird, whose colors are a perfect 
Allthe year Symphony in light browns and yellows. 
A band of buff divides the crown into two equal parts, 
each of which is bordered by a broader buff band, which 
merges into yellow just above the front of the eye; the 
sides of the face are grayish; back a mixture of black 
brown and buff-gray, the black predominating; wings. 
like the back, but broken/+ barred; middle tail feathers. 
the same, but the outer ones partly white; throat and 
under parts lemon yellow, separated by a broad crescent. 
of black. In winter these colors are greatly modified 
with a brownish tone. The sexes are alike. Nest on 
the ground among tall grasses; it is wholly constructed 
of dry grass, and is sometimes arched like that of the 
Ovenbird. Egg white with specks of cinnamon brown. 
The bird is broadly distributed from the coast westward 
to Minnesota, Ulinois, and Louisiana. The Western 
Meadowlark is a distinct species, with an entirely differ- 
ent, and, according to Mr. Ernest E. Thompson, a far 
more beautiful song.* - 
There is an unquestionably pathetic, if not mournful, 
song among those which rise from cur meadows in 
spring and early summer which may at once be attrib- 
uted to the Meadowlark. Like the Wood Pewee, this 
bird is one whose slurred whistle conveys an impression 
quite the opposite of cheerfulness. The strain is a dolo- 
rous one to an ear listening for the minor key in Nature, 
*See his Birds of Manitoba. 
57 
