confluent. Some eggs are marked with small si^ots or speckles alone. Deep shell marks are fainter and 

 somewhat purplish. 



In long-diameter they measure from 1.00 to 1.15. And in short-diameter from .76 to .82. The largest 

 specimen in four sets is 1.13 x .80; the smallest, 1.00 x .78. The ordinary size is about 1.05 x .79. 



DIFFEEEISTTIAL POINTS : 



The nest and eggs, when together, can always be easily recognized by the characters given above. 



KEMAEKS: 



The illustration, Plate XXXVIII, represents a nest and four eggs, taken April 6th, 1882. The nest 

 is a good specimen of the domed variety. It was lifted from its position in a clump of grass, and placed 

 upon the ground near by, so that the drawing would show its composition and construction to better 

 advantage. Below, two eggs are figured, representing the usual sizes and markings; as those in the nest 

 are somewhat foreshortened and obscured. 



The Meadow Lark is a very shy bird at all times, and particularly during the nesting season. 

 They will rarely go near their nest when conscious they are observed, and they are always on the watch 

 for danger. 



The best way to find the nest is to walk back and forth slowly through the field in which it is 

 supposed to be, with the expectation of flushing the bird from her eggs. Faithful watching may discern 

 the birds at work building, and an experienced person may detect the nest by sight. The female sits 

 closely, and will not leave her home without she is in imminent peril. When driven from her nest she 

 often feigns lameness in leg and wing, and will flutter about, uttering a low cry in imitation of that 

 of the young in distress, hoping in this way to divert the attention of the intruder, by tempting him to 

 catch a wounded bird, apparently an easy thing to do. Larks are partial to country roads, and, at all 

 seasons, are frequently seen perched upon the fence or feeding in the road-side grass. During the time 

 the female is sitting, the male generally keeps guard from some neighboring bush or fence, occasionally 

 singing a medley or uttering a few cheering notes. If approached he betrays anxiety by an uneasy jerk 

 of Ills tail, and when he considers the danger past, sometimes he will fly directly to his mate upon the 

 nest, perhaps to tell some trumped up story of his courage. In this way I have several times been led 

 to nests. Only the other day, while driving through the country in a buggy, I passed a Lark, sitting 

 upon the fence, that appeared to me more aneasy than necessary. He did not fly, however, until the 

 buggy was well past, then he went straight to a little knoll in a wheat-field about fifty yards from the 

 road.. I stopped the horse, and walked to the spot, when, suddenly, from almost under my feet, two 

 Larks flew up and off, and there, within a foot, was a beautiful open nest and five eggs. 



]28 



