BIRDS OF NEW YORK 



235 



grass or over the meadow, also a nasal " peent " as it is written by Chapman, 

 as well as a call frequently uttered when alighting upon a fence post or 

 tree and accompanied with a fluttering of the tail, which may be written 

 " eeck-eeck." The nest of the Meadowlark is hidden among the thick 

 grasses or underneath a tussock of sedge or clover, and consists of weed 



Meadowlark's nest and eggs 



stems and coarse grasses, lined with finer blades of grass. It is somewhat 

 arched over, both by the construction materials and by the grass among 

 which it is placed so that it is almost impossible to. detect its situation 

 unless the bird is flushed from the nest. The eggs are from 4 to 6 or 7 

 in number, usually 5 in my experience, with a white ground color more 

 or less thickly speckled and spotted with brown, rusty and lavender. They 



