66 



THE WESTERN MEADOWmRK. 



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At nesting time the Western Meadowlark enjoys a wide distribution in 

 \\'aslnngti>n. It is found not only on all grassy lowlands and in cultivated 

 sections but in the ojien sage as well and ujion the half-ojjen i)ine-clad foot- 

 hills up to an altitude of four thousand feet. 



The Meadowlark is an assiduous nester. This not because of any un- 

 usual amativencss but because young Meadowlarks are the iiiorccnux tlclicicti.v 

 of all the powers that prey, skunks, weasels, mink, raccoons, coyotes, snakes, 

 magpies, crows. Hawks and owls otherwise l^lameless in the bird-world err 

 liere — the game is ttio easy. Even the noble lV'iei,'rim' iloes not disdain 

 this humble, albeit tooth- 

 some, quarry, and the 

 Least Falcon (F a I c a 

 spancritis phaloctia) will 

 stoop for a young Mead- 

 owlark when all other 

 avian offerings are virtu- 

 ously passed by. 



Fecundity then is the 

 only recourse, — this, and 

 concealment. Not rely- 

 ing altogether upon it-^ 

 marvelous protective 

 coloration the lark 

 exhibits great cau- 

 tion in ap])roaching, 

 and, if possilile. in 

 quitting its nest. In 

 eitiicr case it sneaks 

 along the ground for 

 a considerable dis- 

 tance, threading the 

 mazes of the grass 

 so artfully that the 

 human eye can fol- 

 low with difficulty or 

 not at all. .\t the ap- 

 proach of danger a sitting 

 bird may either steal from Ium 

 nest unobserved anrl rise at a 

 safe distance or else seek to 

 further her decc])tion by feign- 

 ing lameness after the fashion nkst a.nd f.c.c.s of the wkstkkx mkahowi.akk 



