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YERTEBRATA. 
THE ROSE-COLORED PASTOR. 
sheep, and frequently mounts on tteir backs to find the insects imbedded in their hair and wool. 
It is a great destroyer of locusts, and on that account is held almost sacred in some parts ; found 
in Asia, Africa, and Southern Europe. The Pastor tristis is a closely allied species, found in the 
Philippine Islands, and having been transported thence to the Mauritius by the colonists, has de- 
stroyed nearly all the insects of the island. 
Genus PHILESTURNUS : Philesturnus. — This includes the Carunculated Philesturnus, 
P. carunculatus, a New Zealand species, brown above and dirty white below. It is very bold, 
and a great babbler. 
THE MEADOW-LAEK. 
Genus STURNELLA : Sturnella. — This includes one of our handsomest and most familiar 
birds, the Meadow-Lark — ^in Virginia the Old Field-Lark — S. Ludoviciana^ ten and a half inches 
long; body above varied with chestnut, deep brown, and black; neck and breast of a bright yel- 
low, with a large cravat of black. It is migratory, coming to us in summer, and breeding in the 
meadows as far north as 56°. Its nest is carefully concealed beneath a tuft of grass, being arched 
over level with the ground. The eggs are from four to five, and white, spotted. It lives on 
seeds and insects. It is a shy, suspicious bird, and being very alert and swift of flight is shot with 
some difficulty. It is tough, but is esteemed for the table. It has none of the docility of the 
European starling, but has a tender and plaintive song during the breeding season, usually uttered 
at morning and evening from the top of some tall tree. The S. neglecta inhabits Western America. 
Genus QUISCALUS; Quiscalus. — This includes the Common Crow-Blackbird, Q. versicolor 
