WAGER] THE NESTS OF SOME COMMON BIRDS 141 



To dignify by the term nest, the nursery of this bird is hardly 

 compHmentary to the word. Little attempt is made apparently, 

 to make anything of a permanent nature, so only a few shreds of 

 corn and grass stems are drawn together, possibly in a slight 

 depression. Here the eggs are laid, usually four in number. 

 They are large for the size of the bird, about an inch and a half 



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^^S- 3- The Well Concealed Nest of the Meadow Lark. 



in length, and strongly ovoid in shape. They are placed with 

 the pointed ends toward the center of the group thus conserving 

 space. In color they are highly protective. The background is 

 brownish white, and the whole heavily marked with chocolate 

 brown, producing a general effect resembling the ground and 

 materials upon which they are laid. Hence you may pass by the 

 nest without noting it at all. The large size of the egg when 

 compared with the size of the bird is of interest, inasmuch as 

 this is a common condition among the praecocial forms, or those 



