158 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 



once met with at Old Orchard, in the spring 1896, remaining a 

 few days singing gloriously. 



The question whether the two forms, St. magna and neglecta, 

 are true species or subspecies still awaits solution, requiring 

 extensive field work, but offering an excellent opportunity for 

 profitable study. Mr. J. A. Allen was the first to observe in 1867 

 'Hhat the Meadowlarks of northern Illinois differed in song 

 quite markedly from their relations in the eastern United States, 

 the departure being in the direction of that of var. neglecta.' ' 

 (See Mem. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. vol. 1, pt. 4, 1868, pp. 496, 

 497). Dr. Elliott Coues in his Birds of the North-west, 1877, 

 writes: "At the edge of the western prairies St. magna begins to 

 shade into var. neglecta, which reaches its maximum departure 

 on the dry central plains." and again: '^The case of Sturnella 

 magna neglecta is settled and explained ; magna shades directly 

 into neglecta. The change is imperceptibly effected." In vol. 

 5 of the Nuttall Bull., 1880, Mr. W. J. McGee of Farley, la., 

 writes: "I saw several individuals (notably one near Rudd, 

 Floyd Co.), which I was totally unable to satisfactorily identify 

 with either S. magna or S. neglecta, either by markings, habits, 

 attitude or voice. They seemed to hold an intermediate position, 

 in all characters, between the best marked extremes." The 

 well-known author of ''The Story of the Birds," Mr. James New- 

 ton Baskett, of Mexico, Mo., who was the first to call the attention 

 of ornithologists to the hybrid song of Meadowlarks in northern 

 Missouri (Auk, vol. 13, p. 258, 1896) writes me: ''There can be 

 no doubt about the inter-grading of the two kinds. I have 

 had several correspondents to confirm this — especially from Iowa 

 and Minnesota." 



In his "Study of the Genus Sturnella," Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. 

 Hist. vol. 13, 1900, Mr. Frank M. Chapman makes the following 

 instructive remarks in regard to the seasonal change in color and 

 pattern: "The fact that Meadowlarks have only a post-nuptial 

 molt and that when the breeding season arrives, wear and fading 

 have deprived their plumage of its most characteristic colors 

 and markings, greatly complicates the study of their relation- 

 ships. The fall molt is concluded in September and from that 

 month until January there is not sufficient change in plumage 

 to interfere with the proper identification of specimens. After 

 January, however, fading and wear often so alter a bird's appear- 

 ance that its identity cannot be determined with certainty. 

 It follows, therefore, that the different characters of these birds 



