68 Birds of Canada. 



MEADOW LARK. 



Sturnella magna. The Meadow Lark. 



The Meadow Lark is one of our most common 

 and beautiful summer visitors. It arrives here 

 about the fifteenth of March. General color, 

 above, dark brown, with streaks of brownish- 

 white ; beneath, yellow, with a black pectoral 

 crescent. Nests, on the ground ; eggs, four or 

 five, pure white, slightly sprinkled with reddish- 

 brown blotches. Its food consists principally of 

 insects, worms, beetles, and grass seeds. Leaves 

 for the south about the first of November. 



Sub-Family ICTERIN^E. The Orioles. 

 Icterus spurius. The Orchard Oriole. 



The Orchard Oriole is seven and a-quarter 

 inches long ; the head, neck, and tail, black ; 

 under parts, brownish-chestnut ; a narrow white 



