Stoddard, on Birds of Southern Wisconsin 
77 
birds, but one shot and examined proved to be a breeding male. 
From the glossiness and sleek appearance of the others it seems 
likely that they were all males. At some future time 1 hope 
to study this roost carefully and examine a considerable num- 
ber of the birds. This time was of course the height of the 
Crows’ breeding season, and it would be interesting to know 
whether the females spend the nights alone at the nests, tem- 
porarily deserted by their irresponsible mates. Their relatives, 
the Bronzed Crackles, also have similar roosts, though the 
habit may be exceptional in both cases. 
Sturnella negleota (Western Meadowlark). — This line song- 
ster is abundant on the sandy parts of Sauk Prairie. On all the 
low lands and in rich farming sections the eastern variety only 
is found, while throughout the sandy wastes the western bird 
holds forth in legions. The line of demarkation between these 
two varieties of Meadowlark as between the rich and poor land 
is quite sharply defined in this region. Nearby, in Dane County, 
in a sandy loam region, both varieties were noticed in close 
proximity. A nest of the Western Meadowlark with three eggs 
was found April 28, and another with four May 11, both in 
long dead grass in the sand prairie. Four males of each va- 
riety taken for comparison, show that the western bird is suf- 
ficiently lighter in coloration to make field identification easy 
and certain in favorable light. 
Calcarius l. lapponicus (Lapland Longspur). — These long- 
spurs gather by thousands on the sandy, weed-grown knolls 
in the southwestern part of Sauk Prairie during the latter part 
of April. They may increase day by day till the fields are alive 
with them, then some morning we find them gone, with the ex- 
ception of a few scattering flocks. April 2S thousands were 
present, while next day not over fifty were seen. A few large 
flocks were noted in the fields near Fox Lake, Dodge County, 
as late as May 18. Specimens collected the last week in April 
were in almost complete summer plumage. 
Calcarius pictus (Smith’s Longspur). — These birds, ordi- 
narily rare in Wisconsin, were seen in small numbers among 
the Lapland* April 27 and 28, and two females and one male 
were collected, in almost complete summer dress. On the lat- 
ter date between twenty and thirty were seen. 
Chondcstes g. grammacus (Lark Sparrows). — Small colo- 
nies of these handsome sparrows were noted at various places 
in Sauk County, and to a lesser extent in Columbia and Dane. 
