THE WESTERN MEADOWLARK. 
No. 22. 
WESTERN MEADOWLARK. 
A. O. U. No. 501.1. Sturnella neglecta Audubon. 
Synonyms.—FigLp Lark. Onp-FIELD Lark. MepiarK. Meprar (poeti- 
cal). Mubiark (corruption). 
Description.—Adult male: General color of upperparts brownish black 
modified by much tawny and buffy-gray edgings of the feathers which throw the 
black into stripes and bars with suggestion of herring-bone pattern; the tawny 
heaviest on secondaries and upper tail-feathers where taking the form of partial 
bands, a median crown stripe and posterior portion of superciliary sordid white 
or buffy; anterior portion of superciliary, cheeks, chin, upper throat, breast 
(broadly) and middle belly rich lemon yellow (inclining to orange in older 
specimens); a large black crescent on upper breast; sides and flanks black- 
streaked and spotted with pale brown on a buffy or whitish ground. Bill 
variegated, tawny, black and white. Female: Like male but smaller and paler 
with some substitutions of brown for black in streaking; black of jugulum veiled 
by grayish tips of feathers; yellow of breast duller. etc. The plumage of both 
sexes is duller in fall and winter, the normal colors being restrained by buffy 
overlay. Length of adult male: 10.00-11.00 (254-279.4); wing 4.85 (123.2); 
tail 3.00 (76.2) ; bill 1.30 (33); tarsus 1.46 (37.1). Female smaller. 
Recognition Marks.—Robin size; yellow breast with black collar distinctive ; 
general streaky appearance above; yellow cheeks as distinguished from the 
Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna). 
Nesting.—Nest: on the ground in thick grass or weeds; a slight depression 
lined (carefully or not) and usually overarched with dried grasses. Eggs: 4-6, 
white, speckled and spotted, sometimes very sparingly, with cinnamon brown or 
purplish ; very variable in shape, elliptical ovate to almost round. Av. size, 1.12 x 
80 (28.5 x 20.3). Season: April and June; two broods. Tacoma, April 5, 1906, 
4 fresh eggs. 
General Range.—Western United States, southwestern British Provinces, and 
northwestern Mexico, east to prairie districts of Mississippi Valley, Minnesota, 
Iowa, Missouri, ete., occasionally to Illinois and Michigan; breeding thruout its 
range. 
Range in Washington.—Abundant east and west of the Cascades; largely 
resident on the West-side, partially on the East-side; numbers augmented from 
the south during last week in February. 
Authorities.—[Lewis and Clark, Hist. Ex. (1814), Ed. Biddle: Coues. 
Vol II. p. 186.] Sturnella neglecta Aud., Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. IX. 1858, 
Poomh Cas. 2 Rh. D® Sr, Ra. D2, Ss". Ss*, Kk B. E. 
Specimens.—(U. of W.) Prov. B. E. BN. P?. 
SUMMER silences the birds so gradually and we ourselves have become 
so much absorbed in business during the prosy days of September that we 
