630 
A YEAR WITH THE BIRDS 
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 examinations show that the habit must be local 
rather than general. As the area of cultivation increases and 
the breeding grounds are curtailed, the species is likely to be- 
come reduced in numbers and consequently 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. — F. E. L. Beal , B.S. 
Meadowlark: Sturnella magna. R. 
Length: 10.75 inches. 
Male and Female: Much variegated above, general color brown. Bill 
stout and straight. Crown with brown and black streaks, black 
line behind eye. Tail black with white outer quills ; wings edged 
with yellow. Under parts yelloz v, black crescent on throat. 
Strong legs, a walker. Female paler. 
Song: Clear and piercing — “Spring o’ the Y-e-a-r!” 
Season: A resident, the migrants remaining from April until late 
October. 
Nest: Of dried grass; placed on the ground; usually concealed by a 
tuft of grass, which makes a partial roof. 
Eggs: 4-6, brilliant, white, speckled with purple and reddish brown. 
One of our most cheerful and beautiful “ all the year 
round ” birds. It was once killed as a game bird, but now 
our state rightly protects it, both for its beauty and the good 
it does the farmer in killing insects that destroy the roots of 
meadow grass and grain. 
“ The Meadowlark is a common and well-known bird 
occurring from the Atlantic coast to the Great Plains, where 
it gives way to a closely related sub-species, which extends 
thence westward to the Pacific. It winters from our southern 
border as far north as the District of Columbia, southern 
Illinois, and 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 
