C. N. Allen on Songs of the Western Meadow Lark. 1 49 



at a considerable distance. I have heard them when I was six 

 or seven hundred feet away from the singer, quite as distinctly 

 as I could hear a loud call of the ordinary human voice. 



I know of no musical instrument whose quality of tone — timbre 

 — is like that of Sturnella neglecta. I have thought that a 

 combination of the tones of the Boehm flute and a good, glass 

 dulcimer might represent it pretty accurately. It has qualities 

 heard in the notes of the Bobolink, and of the Baltimore Oriole. 



Many of the forte songs have a general similitude, but are 

 sufficiently diverse to constitute distinct melodies ; while others 

 are decidedly unique and individual. Nos. 7 and 13, though in 

 different keys, are very nearly alike. Many of them are melodies 

 whose notes follow the simplest laws of musical progression, 

 while others either introduce into the body of the song two or 

 three notes which seem odd and out of place, or end in a note 

 which the foregoing notes do not naturally lead us to expect. 

 The note "E," in No. 23, is a case of the former kind, and "C," 

 in No. 16, of the latter. I have noticed that very many songs 

 begin with either two or three notes of equal length, but songs 

 with other beginnings are common. 



It was my good fortune in March, 1S79, to wa tch and listen to 

 a Western Lark about thirty feet distant, while he sang four dis- 

 tinct melodies without leaving his perch, changing from one to 

 another without apparently observing any particular oixler. As 

 regards variety in his songs, I do not know, further than this 

 instance, what powers the bird has. I have often heard one bird 

 sing two, and occasionally three melodies entirely dissimilar, save 

 in quality of tone. 



The time in which the forte songs are sung is quite regular. 

 I have heard no passages which could be marked accelerando or 

 ritardando. I have tried so to place the bars in these melodies 

 as to indicate the correct rhythm, and think I have succeeded in 

 doing so, since I have detected no error after hearing each song 

 scores of times under favorable circumstances. No. 3, however, 

 I have heard sung with another accent. (See No. 27.) 



The quality of the bird's tones is so unique that I have had 

 difficulty in determining actual pitch, and I am inclined to think 

 that some of the songs are sung an octave higher than they are 

 written. Still, many of the lower tones have a depth of sound 

 which excites my wonder, knowing how small is the organ which 



