MEADOWLARKS 211 



stomachs collected at all seasons of the year, 778, or more than 

 half, contained remains of grasshoppers, and one was filled 

 ■with fragments of 37 of these insects.f 



Among other important insects eaten by the meadowlark 

 may be mentioned beetles, caterpillars, cutworms, and the cot- 

 ton-boll weevil. This bird is particularly valuable as a de- 

 stroyer of this last-mentioned pest, since it feeds regularly/ 

 upon the insect during the winter months, thus reducing very 

 materially the numbers which might otherwise descend upon 

 the cotton crop the following season. The vegetable food of 

 the bird consists of grain (most of which is waste, eaten in 

 winter and early spring) and of weed seed. 



SOUTHERN MEADOWLARK; FIELD LARK: 

 Stwnella magna wrgutvla Bangs. 



State records. — The southern race of the meadowlark 

 (argutvla) is the prevailing form in summer and breeds more 

 or less commonly in nearly all sections. Most of the birds are 

 probably resident in the localities where they are reared, but 

 some may wander more or less in the winter. Many flocks at 

 that season doubtless contain representatives of both the 

 northern and southern races. Specimens of this form have 

 been taken at Orange Beach, Fairhope, Bon Secour, Castle- 

 berry, Barachias (June and November), Hayneville, Auburn, 

 York, Uniontown, Leighton, Woodville, and Elkmont. It 

 doubtless breeds at all of these localities. It is scarce or 

 absent in mountainous districts and only moderately com- 

 mon in the pine flats of the coast region. As a breeder it 

 occurs most commonly in the open grass lands of the Central 

 Prairie Belt. Eggs have been taken at Booth, May 15, 1910 

 (Golsan), and at Barachias, June 2, 1907 (Holt). 



General habits. — The habits of this race are essentially the 

 same as of those of the northern form; the nests are placed 

 on the ground in meadows in a slight depression, usually well 

 concealed by a tussock of grass, weed, or a small bush, and 

 often domed over with grasses. 



tBeal, F. E. L., U. S. Dept. Agrr., Farmers" Bull. 630, p». 14-15, 191B. 



