STURNELLA MAGNA : FIELD LARK. 3OI 



FIELD LARK. 

 Sturnella magna (Z.) Szu. 



Chars. Plumage variegated. Feathers of back blackish, each with 

 a terminal reddish-brown area and sharp brownish edges ; crown 

 streaked with black and brown, with pale median and supracil- 

 iary stripes ; a blackish line behind the eye ; lateral tail-feathers 

 white ; the rest, and the inner quills and wing-coverts, black, scal- 

 loped with brown or gray ; under parts, and edge of wing, bright 

 yellow ; the breast with a black crescent ; the sides and flanks 

 flaxen-brown with blackish streaks ; bill horn color ; feet light 

 brown. Sexes ahke, but female less richly colored. Length of 

 male, lo.oo-ii.oo; wing, 5.00; tail, 3.50; bill, 1.25. Female 

 smaller : length, 9.00-9.50 ; wing, 4.25-4.50. 



This handsome bird may be considered a resident 

 of New England at large, but the general statement 

 requires some qualification for entire precision. The 

 species is more numerous in southern than in north- 

 ern portions, partly as a matter of geographical dis- 

 tribution, partly because its favorite meadows are fewer 

 and farther between in the wilds of Maine than in less 

 primitive districts. It can hardly be considered abun- 

 dant beyond the Alleghanian Fauna. In the next 

 place, comparatively few individuals pass the v.'hole 

 winter with us, and then only in open seasons or in 

 southerl}' places. The bird is much the best known 

 as a migrant and summer visitant, coming to us from 

 the south early in the spring in small detachments, 

 and leaving late in the fall, some time after it has made 

 up in the large flocks which are commonly seen in the 

 latter season. 



As the name implies, it is a bird of meadow and 

 pasture-land, the haying fields of southern New Eng- 



