MEADOWLARKS (Sturnella magna and 
Sturnella neglecta) 
Length, about 1034 inches. 
Range: Breed generally in the United States, 
southern Canada, and Mexico to Costa Rica; 
winter from the Ohio and Potomac valleys 
and British Columbia southward. 
Habits and economic status: Our two mead- 
owlarks, though differing much in song, resem- 
ble each other closely in plumage and habits. 
Grassy plains and uplands covered with a thick 
growth of grass or weeds, with near-by water, 
furnish the conditions best suited to the mead- 
owlark’s taste. The song of the western bird 
is loud, clear, and melodious. That of its east- 
ern relative is feebler and loses much by com- 
parison. In many localities the meadowlark is 
classed and shot as a game bird. From the 
farmer’s standpoint this is a mistake, since its 
value as an insect eater is far greater than as 
an object of pursuit by the sportsman. Both 
the boll weevil, the foe of the cotton grower, 
and the alfalfa weevil are among the beetles it 
habitually eats, Twenty-five per cent of the 
diet of this bird is beetles, half of which are 
predaceous ground beetles, accounted useful 
insects, and one-fifth are destructive weevils. 
Caterpillars form 11 per cent of the food and 
are eaten in every month in the year. Among 
these are many cutworms and the well-known 
army worm. Grasshoppers are favorite food 
and are eaten in every month and almost every 
day. The vegetable food (24 per cent of the 
whole) consists of grain and weed seeds. 
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD (Agelaius 
pheeniceus) 
Length, about 9% inches. 
Range: Breeds in Mexico and North Amer- 
ica south of the Barren Grounds; winters in 
southern half of United States and south to 
Costa Rica. 
Habits and economic status: The prairies of 
the upper Mississippi Valley, with their numer- 
ous sloughs and ponds, furnish ideal nesting 
places for redwings, and consequently this re- 
gion has become the great breeding ground for 
the species. These prairies pour forth the vast 
flocks that play havoc with grain fields. East 
of the Appalachian Range, marshes on the 
shores of lakes, rivers, and estuaries are the 
only available breeding sites and, as these are 
comparatively few and small, the species is 
much less abundant than in the West. Red- 
wings are eminently gregarious, living in flocks 
and breeding in communities. The food of the 
redwing consists of 27 per cent animal matter 
and 73 per cent vegetable. Insects constitute 
practically one-fourth of the food. Beetles 
(largely weevils, a most harmful group) 
amount to 10 per cent. Grasshoppers are eaten 
in every month and amount to about 5 per 
cent. Caterpillars (among them the injurious 
army worm) are eaten at all seasons and ag- 
gregate 6 per cent. Ants, wasps, bugs, flies, 
dragonflies, and spiders also are eaten. The 
vegetable food consists of seeds, including 
grain, of which oats is the favorite, and some 
small fruits. When in large flocks this bird is 
Photograph by Elton Perry 
THE SLACKER OF BIRDDOM EXPOSED 
This is a picture of the nest of Mr. and Mrs. Yellow-breasted Chat, and the majority of 
the eggs belong to the lady of the house; but she has been imposed upon in her absence and 
made the victim of the indolence of her neighbor, Mrs. Cowbird, who has laid an egg in the 
Chat nest for Mrs. Chat to incubate with her own. 
Mrs. Cowbird, relieved of the respon- 
sibility of bringing up her offspring, is probably off indulging in some frivolity. This para- 
sitic habit is a characteristic of the cowbird. The darker egg is the alien embryo. 
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