52 BIRDS OF THE WEST 



MEADOW LARK. 



Nothing in bird life seems more certain to me than that our 

 meadow lark sings with a clearer and a fuller voice than its eastern 

 brother. He sings more and oftener too. Every morning bright 

 and early the voice of the lark is the first to reach my ear, for 

 there is a splendid specimen that starts in with its favorite song, 

 "I'm a pretty creature" and sings it almost under my very 

 window. I should miss it more than the striking of the clock 

 that tells me it is time to "arise and shine". As often happens 

 this particular lark has a song of his own not sung by others of 

 his species, a very rich song that at first fooled me into the be- 

 lief that a mocking-bird was near. 



I have often seen one of them take his place on the top of 

 a telephone pole and start in upon his repertoire, singing each 

 song seven times at short intervals then changing to another song 

 and so on until seven songs were sung. Of course there was not 

 always perfect accuracy in the count for you must remember 

 that the lark is an artist and not a scientist. 



Of course if you "know a hawk from a hand-saw" you know 

 the meadow lark with his yellow shirt-waist cut V-shaped and 

 edged with black at the top of the corsage. You have seen one 

 walking about on almost every acre of our western prairies, but 

 you have never seen many of their nests, for they use the dried 

 grass with which to build them and arch them over so that the 

 exit is on the side. They even build at times a sort of covered 

 run -way so that they may sneak without detection a few feet 

 away from the nest before flying. 



There are many of them shot every year by "sports," none 

 of course by sportsmen, for they are constantly rising before the 

 hunters and their flight is wonderfully like that of the prairie- 

 chicken, so they make good birds to try the gun on. 



Who would ever think that he is a blackbird? That's his 

 family. Why not? He walks; he flocks; he sings; he loves the 

 meadows; he eats worms and larvae; he is sociable and has al- 

 most every habit of the blackbird. 



Though useful beyond measure and perfectly harmless he 

 has many enemies and must lay six eggs at a nesting and must 

 nest three times in a season. What are his enemies, do you ask? 



