21 
eaten are those of ragweed, barn grass, smartweed, and about a dozen 
others. That these seeds are preferred is shown by the fact that the 
birds begin to eat them in August, when grain is still readily accessi- 
ble, and continue feeding on them even after insects become plentiful 
in April. The redwing eats very little fruit and does practically no 
harm in the garden or orchard. 
While it is impossible to dispute the mass of testimony which has 
accumulated concerning its grain-eating propensity, the stomach exam- 
inations show that the habit must be local rather than general. As 
the area of cultivation increases and the breeding grounds are cur- 
tailed, the species is likely to become reduced in numbers and conse- 
quently less harmful. Nearly seven-eighths of the redwing’s food is 
made up of weed seed or of insects injurious to agriculture, indicating 
unmistakably that the bird should be protected, except, perhaps, in a 
few places where it is too abundant. 
THE MEADOW LARK, OR OLD FIELD LARK. 
(Sturnella magna.) 
The nieadow lark (fig. 11) is a common and well-known bird occurring 
from the Atlantic Coast to the Great Plains, where it gives way to 
a closely related subspecies, which extends thence westward to the 
Pacific. It winters from our southern border as far north as the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, southern Ilinois, aud occasionally Iowa. Although 
it is a bird of the plains, finding its most congenial haunts in the 
prairies of the West, it does not disdain the meadows and mowing 
lands of New England. It nests on the ground and is so terrestrial 
in its habits that it seldom perches on trees, preferring a fence rail or 
a telegraph pole. When undisturbed, it may be seen walking about 
with a peculiar dainty step, stopping every few moments to look about 
and give its tail a nervous flirt or to sound a note or two of its clear 
whistle. 
The meadow lark is almost wholly beneficial, although a few com- 
plaints have been made that it pulls sprouting grain, and ove farmer 
claims that it eats clover seed. As a rule, however, it is looked upon 
with favor and is not disturbed. 
In the 238 stomachs examined, animal food (practically all insects) 
constituted 73 per cent of the contents and vegetable matter 27 per 
cent. As would naturally be supposed, the insects were ground species, 
such as beetles, bugs, grasshoppers, and caterpillars, with a few flies, 
wasps, and spiders. A number of the stomachs were taken from birds 
that had been killed when the ground was covered with snow, but still 
they contained a large percentage of insects, showing the bird’s skill 
in finding proper food under adverse circumstances. 
Of the various insects eaten, crickets and grasshoppers are the most 
important, constituting 29 per cent of the entire year’s food and 69 per 
cent of the food in August. It is scarcely necessary to enlarge upon 
