The Meadow Lark 155 



them may be found later than that, and a few of them remain 

 throughout the winter when it is not severely cold. 



Nidification usually begins during the last of April and 

 the first of May and lasts through the greater part of June, 

 and occasionally fresh eggs are found during the first part of 

 July. It is possible that two broods are hatched occasionally, 

 but as a rule only a single brood is reared in a season. Both 

 sexes assist in the construction of the nest, which is always 

 placed on the ground, either in a natural depression or in a 

 little hollow scratched out by the birds, alongside a bunch of 

 grass or weeds. The nest proper consists of a slight lining of 

 dry, wiry grass, bits of stubble and weed stalks ; the inner cup 

 is finished with finer materials of the same kind. The nest is 

 well concealed and difficult to find. As a rule it has a dome- 

 like covering over it. In it the bird lays from four to six white 

 eggs, speckled chiefly at the larger end with brown and lilac. 

 Incubation lasts about fifteen days, and both sexes take part 

 in it. The young are able to leave the nest in about two weeks. 

 They are very adept in hiding at the slightest sign of danger. 

 After they are able to provide for themselves they gather into 

 small flocks and remain in the vicinity of the nest until the lat- 

 ter part of October when they gradually move southward. Oc- 

 tober 10, 1905, they were very plentiful in our meadow. 



To me the migration and distribution of the birds has 

 been a subject of much interest. They are at the right place 

 at the right time to do the most- good. The weed seed glean- 

 ers are here and everywhere when needed after the seeds have 

 ripened. The tree bole gleaners are ready for service when 

 the greatest quantity of larvae and eggs of the pernicious in- 

 sects are stored away in the crevices and under the bark of 

 the boles. And with the coming of spring when the eggs of 

 these insects are hatching and the insects are in flight, the 

 great army of insectivorous birds are moving north and de- 

 vouring them, and that which is especially noticeable, is the 

 fact that they spread over all portions of the country, and like 

 the rain that falls, doing good work for the just and the unjust 

 alike. This is particularly true of the meadow lark. Alike in 

 the meadows of the east and the prairies of the west, and the 

 savannas of the south, its clear piping lay may be heard in the 



