17G xoiiTii AMi:i:icAN iui:i)S. 



Ill Xew En^liiiitl tlicst; Idnls mute durini^' the latter part of A])ril, and 

 c'uii.slruct tlu'ir licsts in May. Tlicv always jilace tlicir nest nn the ground, 

 usually in tin* shelter of a thick tuft of "^lass, and huild a covlmlmI j)assa^e 

 to their hidden nest. This entrance is u>ually formed of withered j^rass, 

 and so well conceals the nest that it can only he defected l>y Hushing the 

 female from it, or hv the anxietv of her mate, who will fre(|Uentlv llv rouncl 

 the sjiot in so jiarrow a circuit as to hetray its location. 



The euijs of the Meadow Lark varv-'reatlv in size and also in their mark- 

 ini^s, tliouiih the «ieneral character of the hitter is the same. Tlu; smallest, 

 from Florida, measure .l>o hy .<»S of an inch. The largest, from Massachu- 

 setts, measure l.lid inches by .!M). Thev have a white m-o'ind, marked and 

 dotted \vith irrei^ndar reddish-hrown s})ot.s. (leiierally these are e([iially 

 distrihuti'd, hut occasionally aie idiietly ahout the larger end. Their shajK3 

 is oval, nearly et[ually rounded at either end. 



The diversity in the characteristics of the eii^s of this siiecies has not un- 

 fre([Uently occasioned remark.s, and even su,i,%^?sted c<»njectures as to specilic 

 dilfe'ences. They are all, however, reconcilahle with dilferences in the age 

 of the ])arents, and are, to some extent, alfected hy the circumstances under 

 which they are dejjosited. The eggs of old, mature hirds, deposited in the 

 early summer, or the first hrood, are usually suh-glohular or ohtu.sely i)ointed 

 at either end, large in size, and irn*gularly sprinkled over with fine bright 

 red dots. Younger birds, breeding for the lirst time, birds that have been 

 robbed of their eggs, or those depositing a third set, have smaller cgg^, some- 

 times two thirds of the maximum size, more oblong and more ])ointed at one 

 end, and are marked, at the larger end only, with plashes of dark purplish- 

 brown. 



Stumella magna, var. neglecta, Aid. 



WESTERN LABK. 



StumcUa nrrihcta. Aid. Birds Am. VII, 1843, 339, pi. tccclxxxvii. — Xf.wrkuiiv, Zool. 

 Cal. k Or. Kout*' ; \U'\k P. H. K. Suiv. VI, iv, 1857, h«). — B.vir.i), IMnl.s N. Am. 

 1858, 537. — Hkki:.m. X, S, 54. —f'ooFKit k SrcKLKV, 208. - Cooper, Orii. Cal. I, 

 1870, 270. ? Sfunic/la kippocrepis, (VVaoleu, ) Hkkumann, .T. A. X. Se. Ph. 2d series, 

 11, 1853, 2«'>lt, Suisuu. 



Sp. Char. Feathers above dark brown, mar<rined with brownish-white, with a ter- 

 minal blotch of pale reddish-brown. Exposeil portion of wini^s and tail with transverse 

 bands, which, in tlie latter, are completely isolated from each other, narrow and linear. 

 Beneath yellow, with a black pectoral cresc«'nt. The yellow of the throat extendincr on 

 the sides ot the maxilla. Sides, crissum. and tibia> very pale reddish-l)rown. or nearly 

 whit43, streaked with blackish. Head with a liudit median and .«;nperciliary .«tripe, the 

 latter yellow in front of the eye ; a blackish line l)eliind it. The transverse bars 0!i the 

 feathers above (less so on the tail) with a tonden<,*y t< become continent near the exterior 

 mar^Mn. Lenirth, 10 inches : winir. o.'io ; tail, .'>.*Jo ; bill. 1.2.'>. 



Had. Western America from hiirh Central Plains to the Pacific; east to Pembina, 

 and perhaps to Wiscon-in, on the north (^lowa, Allen), and Texas on the south; western, 

 Mexico, .<;outh to Colima. 



