118 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis 
were sitting in sunny pockets of the snow about the cornstalks 
of the West Subdivision—and there singing. 
Meadowlarks were observed every day from early April to 
late July. The maximum number seemed to be reached by April 
28. Three nests were located, one only on the subdivisions. A 
nest of June 11 had three eggs, a nest of June 20 had five eggs 
which hatched June 25, young left the nest July 4 and 5 at an 
age identical to the nest leaving of most of the Prairie Horned 
Lark nestlings. <A nest of July 18 had two young, well-fledged, 
near nest-leaving. On June 23, and subsequently, family groups 
were in evidence. A mid-June census showed seventeen pairs on 
the Main Subdivision. 
By the first week of July songs were fewer and less vigorous 
but were still given occasionally even to the end of the month. 
The breeding habitat of the Meadowlark is that of compar- 
atively low but heavy grasses. Nests seldom occur in dense 
leafy growths of dicotyledonous herbs as do those of the Bobo- 
link and Dicksissel. The one located subdivision nest was in a 
broad expanse of blue grass (Poa pratensis). Thus the Meadow- 
lark, in the relationship of its breeding habitat to vegetation 
comes somewhat between the Dicksissel and Bobolink at one ex- 
treme and the Prairie Horned Lark at the other. 
Pooecetes gramineus gramineus. Vesper Sparrow. On April 
16, 1926, the first definite songs of the Vesper Sparrow occurred 
on the subdivisions. The day following they were numerous, 
and every day from that date until late July they are recorded 
in my notes. 
The Vesper Sparrow remained in full song later than any 
other resident of the area and even on July 21, with nearly all 
other bird voices hushed, his voice still rang out across weed 
and grass tops of the West Subdivision. In broad day and full 
sun the Vesper Sparrow sang in May and June but evening and 
cloudy days found him at his best and fullest. In July the song 
was restricted nearly entirely to the evening. 
One nest was located on the Main Subdivision June 8. It 
contained four eggs of which one hatched July 18, two others 
July 19, and one failed to hatch. The young left the nest June 
28 with one at the eleventh day and two at the tenth. The June 
census showed five pairs of nesting birds on the Main Sub- 
division, nearly all in old hazards. 
